GSE173630
FVE promotes RNA-directed DNA methylation by facilitating the association of RNA polymerase V with chromatin [H3K27me3 ChIP-Seq].
DNA methylation can be established by RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) in plants. The association of RNA polymerase V (Pol V) with chromatin is a critical step for RdDM. While the SRA-domain-containing proteins SUVH2 and SUVH9 and the DDR complex are known to be required for the association of Pol V with chromatin, it is unknown whether the association of Pol V with chromatin requires other unidentified regulators. Here we found that SUVH9 is able to interact with a conserved histone-interaction protein, FVE, and a previously uncharacterized RRM domain-containing protein, which we named RRM1. We demonstrated that FVE facilitates the association of Pol V with chromatin and thus contributes to DNA methylation at a substantial subset of RdDM target loci, while RRM1 is only slightly involved in RdDM. FVE-dependent RdDM target loci are more abundant in gene-rich chromosome arms than FVE-independent RdDM target loci. FVE was previously shown to be a shared subunit of the RPD3-type histone deacetylase complex and the polycomb-type histone H3K27 trimethyltransferase complex, both of which are involved in transcriptional repression. This study reveals a previously uncharacterized role of FVE in RdDM and suggests that FVE may coordinate RdDM, histone deacetylation, and H3K27 trimethylation, thus ensuring transcriptional silencing of TEs in gene-rich chromosome arms to protect genes from harmful effects of potentially transcribed TEs Overall design: Examination of H3K27me3 levels in wild type grown under long day condition.