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PMID: 16531498 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

DNA methylation is critical for Arabidopsis embryogenesis and seed viability.

The Plant cell ·Vol. 18 ·No. 4 ·2006-04-00 ·Pages 805-14

Xiao W, Custard KD, Brown RC, Lemmon BE, Harada JJ, Goldberg RB, Fischer RL

Abstract

DNA methylation (5-methylcytosine) in mammalian genomes predominantly occurs at CpG dinucleotides, is maintained by DNA methyltransferase1 (Dnmt1), and is essential for embryo viability. The plant genome also has 5-methylcytosine at CpG dinucleotides, which is maintained by METHYLTRANSFERASE1 (MET1), a homolog of Dnmt1. In addition, plants have DNA methylation at CpNpG and CpNpN sites, maintained, in part, by the CHROMOMETHYLASE3 (CMT3) DNA methyltransferase. Here, we show that Arabidopsis thaliana embryos with loss-of-function mutations in MET1 and CMT3 develop improperly, display altered planes and numbers of cell division, and have reduced viability. Genes that specify embryo cell identity are misexpressed, and auxin hormone gradients are not properly formed in abnormal met1 embryos. Thus, DNA methylation is critical for the regulation of plant embryogenesis and for seed viability.

MeSH Terms
Arabidopsis/cytology,embryology Arabidopsis Proteins/metabolism Cell Division Cell Survival DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases/metabolism DNA Methylation Pollen/physiology Seeds/cytology
Chemicals
Arabidopsis Proteins MET1 protein, Arabidopsis DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases
Authors & Affiliations
7 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Xiao Wenyan
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
Custard Kendra D
Brown Roy C
Lemmon Betty E
Harada John J
Goldberg Robert B
Fischer Robert L
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Article Info
Journal
The Plant cell
Abbr.
Plant Cell
ISSN
1040-4651
DOI
10.1105/tpc.105.038836
Published
2006-04-00
Epub
2006-00-10
Pages
805-14
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
9208688
PMCID
PMC1425851
Subset
IM
Grants
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM069415 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · GM069415 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1105/tpc.105.038836 PMC Full Text View journal details
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