title: DNA methylation and imprinting in plants: machinery and mechanisms.
abstract: Imprinting is an epigenetic phenomenon in which genes are expressed selectively from either the maternal or paternal alleles. In plants, imprinted gene expression is found in a tissue called the endosperm. Imprinting is often set by a unique epigenomic configuration in which the maternal chromosomes are less DNA methylated than their paternal counterparts. In this review, we synthesize studies that paint a detailed molecular portrait of the distinctive endosperm methylome. We will also discuss the molecular machinery that shapes and modifies this methylome, and the role of DNA methylation in imprinting.
authors.affiliation: a Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research , Cambridge , MA , USA.
authors.forename: P R V
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Satyaki
authors.affiliation: a Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research , Cambridge , MA , USA.|b Department of Biology , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge , MA , USA.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gehring
mesh_terms: D019175:DNA Methylation; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D056625:Endosperm / Q000235:genetics*; D057890:Epigenomics; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D018392:Genomic Imprinting; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant
keywords: DNA methylation; Gene imprinting; endosperm; plants; seeds