title: Reduced activity of Arabidopsis chromosome-cohesion regulator gene CTF7/ECO1 alters cytosine methylation status and retrotransposon expression.
abstract: Multicellular organisms such as higher plants require timely regulation of DNA replication and cell division to grow and develop. Recent work in Arabidopsis has shown that chromosome segregation during meiosis and mitosis depends on the activity of several genes that in yeast are involved in the establishment of chromosomal cohesion. In this process, proteins of the structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) family tether chromosomes and establish inter- and intrachromosomal connections. In Arabidopsis, recruitment of SMC proteins and establishment of cohesion during key stages of the cell cycle depend on the activity of chromosome transmission fidelity 7/establishment of cohesion 1 (CTF7/ECO1). Here we show that loss of CTF7/ECO1 activity alters the status of cytosine methylation in both intergenic regions and transposon loci. An increase in expression was also observed for transposon copia28, which suggests a link between CTF7/ECO1 activity, DNA methylation and gene silencing. More work is needed to determine the mechanistic relationships that intervene in this process.
authors.affiliation: a Fabio Baudrit Experimental Station; School of Agronomy; University of Costa Rica ; Alajuela , Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bolaños-Villegas
authors.forename: Guang-Yuh
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Jauh
mesh_terms: D000123:Acetyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism*; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; D003596:Cytosine / Q000378:metabolism; D019175:DNA Methylation; D018626:Retroelements
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; D018626:Retroelements; D003596:Cytosine; D000123:Acetyltransferases; C583922:CTF7 protein, Arabidopsis
keywords: Arabidopsis; CTF7/ECO1; DNA methylation; acetyltransferase; chromosome cohesion; epigenetic regulation; gene silencing