title: Developmental relaxation of transposable element silencing in plants: functional or byproduct?
abstract: In plants, the developmental relaxation of transposable element silencing (DRTS) occurs at distinct spatial and temporal points in the normal development of a wild-type individual. Several examples of DRTS have now been described, including in maize shoot apical meristems, and in Arabidopsis meiocytes, endosperm and nurse cells of gametophytes. In this opinion article, we review the known DRTS events and speculate on the function, if any, of DRTS in plants.
authors.affiliation: The Department of Molecular Genetics and The Center for RNA Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Germán
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: R Keith
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Slotkin
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D002843:Chromatin / Q000235:genetics; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics*; D056625:Endosperm / Q000235:genetics; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D055993:Germ Cells, Plant / Q000254:growth & development; D018519:Meristem / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D009928:Organ Specificity; D063245:Plant Development; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics*; D012098:Reproduction / Q000235:genetics; D003313:Zea mays / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements