Methylome analysis reveals an important role for epigenetic changes in the regulation of the Arabidopsis response to phosphate starvation
Wednesday, 2015/12/30 | 07:51:52
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Lenin Yong-Villalobos, Sandra Isabel González-Morales, Kazimierz Wrobel, Dolores Gutiérrez-Alanis, Sergio Alan Cervantes-Peréz, Corina Hayano-Kanashiro, Araceli Oropeza-Aburto, Alfredo Cruz-Ramírez, Octavio Martínez, and Luis Herrera-Estr SignificanceSignificant progress has been achieved in our understanding of plant adaptive responses to ensure growth and reproduction in soils with low phosphate (Pi) availability. However, the potential role of epigenetic mechanisms in the modulation of these responses remains largely unknown. In this article, we describe dynamic changes in global DNA methylation patterns that occur in Arabidopsis plants exposed to low Pi availability; these changes are associated with the onset of Pi starvation responses. We show that the expression of a subset of low Pi-responsive genes is modulated by methylation changes and that DNA methylation is required for the proper establishment of developmental and molecular responses to Pi starvation. AbstractPhosphate (Pi) availability is a significant limiting factor for plant growth and productivity in both natural and agricultural systems. To cope with such limiting conditions, plants have evolved a myriad of developmental and biochemical strategies to enhance the efficiency of Pi acquisition and assimilation to avoid nutrient starvation. In the past decade, these responses have been studied in detail at the level of gene expression; however, the possible epigenetic components modulating plant Pi starvation responses have not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we report that an extensive remodeling of global DNA methylation occurs in Arabidopsis plants exposed to low Pi availability, and in many instances, this effect is related to changes in gene expression. Modifications in methylation patterns within genic regions were often associated with transcriptional activation or repression, revealing the important role of dynamic methylation changes in modulating the expression of genes in response to Pi starvation. Moreover, Arabidopsis mutants affected in DNA methylation showed that changes in DNA methylation patterns are required for the accurate regulation of a number of Pi-starvation–responsive genes and that DNA methylation is necessary to establish proper morphological and physiological phosphate starvation responses.
See http://www.pnas.org/content/112/52/E7293.abstract.html?etoc PNAS December 29, 2015 vol. 112 no. 52: E7293–E7302
Fig. 1. Global changes in Arabidopsis 5mC and expression analysis of DNA methylation genes. (A) The average global 5mC% in Col 0 seedlings at 4, 7, 14, and 17 d grown in solid medium containing either HP (1 mM) or LP (5 μM). Values are the mean ± SD of three biological replicates. Bars with asterisks are significantly different from LP in terms of their respective tissues (n = 100, P < 0.01). (B) Real-time PCR analyses of whole Col 0 seedlings grown in HP and LP medium for 4, 7, 12, 14, 17, and 21 d; AtACT2, At5g55840, and At3g53090 served as internal controls; HP values for each time point were used as calibrator samples. Data are the means ± SEM of two biological replicates (three technical replicates each). (C) Global 5mC% changes in ddc and rdd triple mutants in response to Pi limitations. Plants were grown for 4 d in the first phosphate treatment and then transferred to the second phosphate treatment for 17 d. Values are the mean ± SD of six biological replicates (two technical replicates each); n = 100. Bars with asterisks are significantly different from WT (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01). |
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