Genes of the FERTILISATION INDEPENDENT SEED (FIS) class regulate cell proliferation during reproductive development in Arabidopsis [1-5]. The FIS genes FERTILISATION INDEPENDENT ENDOSPERM (FIE) and MEDEA (MEA) encode homologs of animal Polycomb group (Pc-G) proteins, transcriptional regulators that modify chromatin structure and are thought to form multimeric complexes [3-11]. To test whether similarities in fis mutant phenotypes reflect interactions between their protein products, we characterised FIE RNA and protein localisation in vivo, and FIE protein interactions in yeast and in vitro. Expression of FIE mRNA overlaps with that of MEA during embryo sac and seed development and is unaffected in mea mutants. Results from the yeast two-hybrid system and an in vitro pull-down assay indicate that MEA and FIE proteins interact. The relevance of this interaction in vivo is supported by the finding that FIE and MEA co-localise in the nucleus in transfected plant cells. Interaction of MEA and FIE is mediated by the amino-terminal region of MEA. Despite sequence divergence in this domain, MEA can interact with its corresponding animal partner Extrasexcombs (ESC) in the yeast two-hybrid system. We conclude that FIE and MEA act together as part of a multimeric complex and that this accounts for the similarities in mutant phenotypes. We propose that an ancient mechanism for chromatin modification has been independently recruited to different developmental processes in the two kingdoms.
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FIE, a nuclear PRC2 protein, forms cytoplasmic complexes in Arabidopsis thaliana.
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Department of Molecular Biology and Ecology of Plant, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel
Article Synopsis
- Polycomb group (PcG) proteins are essential chromatin modifiers in plants that regulate developmental pathways through the formation of Polycomb Repressive Complexes (PRCs), particularly PRC2, which represses genes by methylating histones.
- The study investigates the localization of the core PcG subunit FIE in Arabidopsis thaliana, revealing that FIE accumulates not only in the nucleus but also forms high-molecular-mass complexes in the cytoplasm of all cell types examined.
- These findings suggest that, similar to observations in animals, PcGs in plants may have additional roles outside the nucleus, indicating a broader functional potential for these proteins beyond chromatin modification.
The Polycomb group protein MEDEA and the DNA methyltransferase MET1 interact to repress autonomous endosperm development in Arabidopsis.
Plant J
March 2013
Institute of Plant Biology & Zürich-Basel Plant Science Center, University of Zürich, CH-8008, Zürich, Switzerland.
In flowering plants, double fertilization of the female gametes, the egg and the central cell, initiates seed development to give rise to a diploid embryo and the triploid endosperm. In the absence of fertilization, the FERTILIZATION-INDEPENDENT SEED Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (FIS-PRC2) represses this developmental process by histone methylation of certain target genes. The FERTILIZATION-INDEPENDENT SEED (FIS) class genes MEDEA (MEA) and FERTILIZATION-INDEPENDENT ENDOSPERM (FIE) encode two of the core components of this complex.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF[Imprinting genes and it's expression in Arabidopsis].
Yi Chuan
July 2010
Rice Research Institute of Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang 611130, China.
Genomic imprinting refers to the phenomenon that the expression of a gene copy depends on its parent of origin. The Arabidopsis imprinted FIS (Fertilisation-independent seed) genes, mea, fis2, and fie, play essential roles in the repression of central cell and the regulation of early endosperm development. fis mutants display two phenotypes: autonomous diploid endosperm development when fertilization is absent and un-cellularised endosperm formation when fertilization occurs.
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Institute of Agrobiotechnology, CERTH, Thermi-Thessaloniki, Greece.
Background: Epigenetic phenomena have been associated with the regulation of active and silent chromatin states achieved by modifications of chromatin structure through DNA methylation, and histone post-translational modifications. The latter is accomplished, in part, through the action of PcG (Polycomb group) protein complexes which methylate nucleosomal histone tails at specific sites, ultimately leading to chromatin compaction and gene silencing. Different PcG complex variants operating during different developmental stages have been described in plants.
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Genetics
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CSIRO Plant Industry, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
The Arabidopsis mutant Atubp26 initiates autonomous endosperm at a frequency of approximately 1% in the absence of fertilization and develops arrested seeds at a frequency of approximately 65% when self-pollinated. These phenotypes are similar to those of the FERTILIZATION INDEPENDENT SEED (FIS) class mutants, mea, fis2, fie, and Atmsi1, which also show development of the central cell into endosperm in the absence of fertilization and arrest of the embryo following fertilization. Atubp26 results from a T-DNA insertion in the UBIQUITIN-SPECIFIC PROTEASE gene AtUBP26, which catalyzes deubiquitination of histone H2B and is required for heterochromatin silencing.
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