title: PcG and trxG in plants - friends or foes.
abstract: The highly-conserved Polycomb group (PcG) and trithorax group (trxG) proteins play major roles in regulating gene expression and maintaining developmental states in many organisms. However, neither the recruitment of Polycomb repressive complexes (PRC) nor the mechanisms of PcG and trxG-mediated gene silencing and activation are well understood. Recent progress in Arabidopsis research challenges the dominant model of PRC2-dependent recruitment of PRC1 to target genes. Moreover, evidence indicates that diverse forms of PRC1, with shared components, are a common theme in plants and mammals. Although trxG is known to antagonize PcG, emerging data reveal that trxG can also repress gene expression, acting cooperatively with PcG. We discuss these recent findings and highlight the employment of diverse epigenetic mechanisms during development in plants and animals.
authors: Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
authors: Li
authors: L
authors: Pu
authors: Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Electronic address: sungr@berkeley.edu.
authors: Zinmay Renee
authors: ZR
authors: Sung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D051788:Myeloid-Lymphoid Leukemia Protein / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D010940:Plant Proteins; D063146:Polycomb-Group Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D006657:Histones; D010940:Plant Proteins; D063146:Polycomb-Group Proteins; D051788:Myeloid-Lymphoid Leukemia Protein
keywords: Polycomb and trithorax group proteins; antagonism and cooperation; histone methylation; seed and floral repression