A conserved transcriptional regulator is required for RNA-directed DNA methylation and plant development.
RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) is a conserved mechanism for epigenetic silencing of transposons and other repetitive elements. We report that the rdm4 (RNA-directed DNA Methylation4) mutation not only impairs RdDM, but also causes pleiotropic developmental defects in Arabidopsis. Both RNA polymerase II (Pol II)- and Pol V-dependent transcripts are affected in the rdm4 mutant. RDM4 encodes a novel protein that is conserved from yeast to humans and interacts with Pol II and Pol V in plants. Our results suggest that RDM4 functions in epigenetic regulation and plant development by serving as a transcriptional regulator for RNA Pol V and Pol II, respectively.
He
Xin-Jian
XJ
Institute for Integrative Genome Biology and Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, USA.
Hsu
Yi-Feng
YF
Zhu
Shihua
S
Liu
Hai-Liang
HL
Pontes
Olga
O
Zhu
Jianhua
J
Cui
Xinping
X
Wang
Co-Shine
CS
Zhu
Jian-Kang
JK
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D019175:DNA Methylation; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000378:metabolism*; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000378:metabolism; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D020868:Gene Silencing / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000378:metabolism*
D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D018744:DNA, Plant; D018749:RNA, Plant; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases