title: The LINC complex contributes to heterochromatin organisation and transcriptional gene silencing in plants.
abstract: The linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton (LINC) complex is an evolutionarily well-conserved protein bridge connecting the cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments across the nuclear membrane. While recent data support its function in nuclear morphology and meiosis, its involvement in chromatin organisation has not been studied in plants. Here, 3D imaging methods have been used to investigate nuclear morphology and chromatin organisation in interphase nuclei of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana in which heterochromatin clusters in conspicuous chromatin domains called chromocentres. Chromocentres form a repressive chromatin environment contributing to transcriptional silencing of repeated sequences, a general mechanism needed for genome stability. Quantitative measurements of the 3D position of chromocentres indicate their close proximity to the nuclear periphery but that their position varies with nuclear volume and can be altered in specific mutants affecting the LINC complex. Finally, we propose that the plant LINC complex contributes to proper heterochromatin organisation and positioning at the nuclear periphery, since its alteration is associated with the release of transcriptional silencing as well as decompaction of heterochromatic sequences.
authors.affiliation: Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Inserm, GReD, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.|Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1LR, UK.
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Poulet
authors.affiliation: Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Inserm, GReD, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Céline
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7426-4541
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duc
authors.affiliation: Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Inserm, GReD, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Maxime
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Voisin
authors.affiliation: Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Inserm, GReD, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4897-4977
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Desset
authors.affiliation: Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Inserm, GReD, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tutois
authors.affiliation: Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Inserm, GReD, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3209-6743
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vanrobays
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Benoit
authors.affiliation: Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1LR, UK.
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Inserm, GReD, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Aline V
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9534-8058
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Probst
authors.affiliation: Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Inserm, GReD, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France christophe.tatout@uca.fr.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5215-2338
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tatout
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D053144:Cell Nucleus Shape; D020868:Gene Silencing; D006570:Heterochromatin / Q000378:metabolism*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000166:cytology; D054046:Plant Stomata / Q000166:cytology; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D006570:Heterochromatin; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes
keywords: 3D imaging; Chromocentre; Heterochromatin; LINC complex; Lamina; Nuclear organisation