Male fertility in Arabidopsis requires active DNA demethylation of genes that control pollen tube function
Souraya Khouider1, Filipe Borges2,3, Chantal LeBlanc2,4
1Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, 75005, Paris, France.
Abstract:
Active DNA demethylation is required for sexual reproduction in plants but the molecular determinants underlying this epigenetic control are not known. Here, we show in Arabidopsis thaliana that the DNA glycosylases DEMETER (DME) and REPRESSOR OF SILENCING 1 (ROS1) act semi-redundantly in the vegetative cell of pollen to demethylate DNA and ensure proper pollen tube progression. Moreover, we identify six pollen-specific genes with increased DNA methylation as well as reduced expression in dme and dme;ros1. We further show that for four of these genes, reinstalling their expression individually in mutant pollen is sufficient to improve male fertility. Our findings demonstrate an essential role of active DNA demethylation in regulating genes involved in pollen function.
