DNA LIGASE I exerts a maternal effect on seed development in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Maternal effects are defined by mutations that affect the next generation when they are maternally inherited. To date, most indepth studies of maternal effects in plants have attributed their origin to genomic imprinting that restricts expression to the maternal allele. The DNA glycosylase DEMETER (DME) removes methylated cytosine residues, causing transcriptional activation of the maternal allele of imprinted genes. In this study, we show that loss-of-function of the major DNA LIGASE I (AtLIG1) in Arabidopsis thaliana causes maternal effects in the endosperm, which is the seed tissue that nurtures embryo development. AtLIG1 expression is not imprinted and has a limited impact on imprinted gene expression. Genetic interaction analyses further indicate that AtLIG1 acts downstream of DME. The removal of methylated cytosine residues by DME involves the creation of DNA single-strand breaks and our results suggest that AtLIG1 repairs these breaks.
Andreuzza
Sebastien
S
Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, 117604 Singapore.
Li
Jing
J
Guitton
Anne-Elisabeth
AE
Faure
Jean-Emmanuel
JE
Casanova
Sandrine
S
Park
Jin-Sup
JS
Choi
Yeonhee
Y
Chen
Zhong
Z
Berger
Frédéric
F
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000196:embryology* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D000072481:DNA Ligase ATP; D011088:DNA Ligases / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008957:Models, Genetic; D009699:N-Glycosyl Hydrolases / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D010641:Phenotype; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000196:embryology / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012639:Seeds / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators; C463261:DEMETER protein, Arabidopsis; D009699:N-Glycosyl Hydrolases; D011088:DNA Ligases; D000072481:DNA Ligase ATP