ARGONAUTE9-dependent silencing of transposable elements in pericentromeric regions of Arabidopsis

Noé Durán-Figueroa; Jean Philippe Vielle-Calzada

doi:10.4161/psb.5.11.13548

ARGONAUTE9-dependent silencing of transposable elements in pericentromeric regions of Arabidopsis

Noé Durán-Figueroa, Jean Philippe Vielle-Calzada

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

44 Scopus citations

Abstract

Recent evidence indicates that the establishment of the haploid phase of the plant life cycle requires epigenetic mechanisms that control reproductive cell fate. We previously showed that in Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) mutations in ARGONAUTE9 (AGO9) result in defective cell specification during megasporogenesis. AGO9 preferentially interacts with 24 nucleotide (nt) small RNAs (sRNAs) derived from transposable elements (TEs), and its sporophytic activity is required to silence TEs in the female gametophyte. Here we show that AGO9 can bind in vitro to 24 nt sRNAs corresponding to Athila retrotransposons expressed in the ovule prior to pollination. We also show that AGO9 is necessary to inactivate a significant proportion of long terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTRs) in the ovule, and that its predominant TE targets are located in the pericentromeric regions of all 5 chromosomes, suggesting a link between the AGO9-dependent sRNA pathway and heterochromatin formation. Our extended results point towards the existence of a tissue-specific mechanism of sRNA-dependent TE silencing in the ovule.

Original language	English
Journal	Plant Signaling and Behavior
Volume	5
Issue number	11
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.4161/psb.5.11.13548
State	Published - Nov 2010
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

ARGONAUTE9
Arabidopsis
Centromere
Gametogenesis
Transposons

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10.4161/psb.5.11.13548

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title = "ARGONAUTE9-dependent silencing of transposable elements in pericentromeric regions of Arabidopsis",

abstract = "Recent evidence indicates that the establishment of the haploid phase of the plant life cycle requires epigenetic mechanisms that control reproductive cell fate. We previously showed that in Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) mutations in ARGONAUTE9 (AGO9) result in defective cell specification during megasporogenesis. AGO9 preferentially interacts with 24 nucleotide (nt) small RNAs (sRNAs) derived from transposable elements (TEs), and its sporophytic activity is required to silence TEs in the female gametophyte. Here we show that AGO9 can bind in vitro to 24 nt sRNAs corresponding to Athila retrotransposons expressed in the ovule prior to pollination. We also show that AGO9 is necessary to inactivate a significant proportion of long terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTRs) in the ovule, and that its predominant TE targets are located in the pericentromeric regions of all 5 chromosomes, suggesting a link between the AGO9-dependent sRNA pathway and heterochromatin formation. Our extended results point towards the existence of a tissue-specific mechanism of sRNA-dependent TE silencing in the ovule.",

keywords = "ARGONAUTE9, Arabidopsis, Centromere, Gametogenesis, Transposons",

author = "No{\'e} Dur{\'a}n-Figueroa and Vielle-Calzada, {Jean Philippe}",

note = "Funding Information: We thank Jaime Mendiola for assistance with sample collection, Cesar Alvarez for help with bioinformatic analysis, and all members of the Apolab for suggestions. N.D.F. was supported by a Ph.D. scholarship from Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnolog{\'i}a (CONACyT). The research is funded by CONACyT and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute International Scholar program.",

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AU - Durán-Figueroa, Noé

AU - Vielle-Calzada, Jean Philippe

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N2 - Recent evidence indicates that the establishment of the haploid phase of the plant life cycle requires epigenetic mechanisms that control reproductive cell fate. We previously showed that in Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) mutations in ARGONAUTE9 (AGO9) result in defective cell specification during megasporogenesis. AGO9 preferentially interacts with 24 nucleotide (nt) small RNAs (sRNAs) derived from transposable elements (TEs), and its sporophytic activity is required to silence TEs in the female gametophyte. Here we show that AGO9 can bind in vitro to 24 nt sRNAs corresponding to Athila retrotransposons expressed in the ovule prior to pollination. We also show that AGO9 is necessary to inactivate a significant proportion of long terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTRs) in the ovule, and that its predominant TE targets are located in the pericentromeric regions of all 5 chromosomes, suggesting a link between the AGO9-dependent sRNA pathway and heterochromatin formation. Our extended results point towards the existence of a tissue-specific mechanism of sRNA-dependent TE silencing in the ovule.

AB - Recent evidence indicates that the establishment of the haploid phase of the plant life cycle requires epigenetic mechanisms that control reproductive cell fate. We previously showed that in Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) mutations in ARGONAUTE9 (AGO9) result in defective cell specification during megasporogenesis. AGO9 preferentially interacts with 24 nucleotide (nt) small RNAs (sRNAs) derived from transposable elements (TEs), and its sporophytic activity is required to silence TEs in the female gametophyte. Here we show that AGO9 can bind in vitro to 24 nt sRNAs corresponding to Athila retrotransposons expressed in the ovule prior to pollination. We also show that AGO9 is necessary to inactivate a significant proportion of long terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTRs) in the ovule, and that its predominant TE targets are located in the pericentromeric regions of all 5 chromosomes, suggesting a link between the AGO9-dependent sRNA pathway and heterochromatin formation. Our extended results point towards the existence of a tissue-specific mechanism of sRNA-dependent TE silencing in the ovule.

KW - ARGONAUTE9

KW - Arabidopsis

KW - Centromere

KW - Gametogenesis

KW - Transposons

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DO - 10.4161/psb.5.11.13548

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JO - Plant Signaling and Behavior

JF - Plant Signaling and Behavior

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ER -

ARGONAUTE9-dependent silencing of transposable elements in pericentromeric regions of Arabidopsis

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Keywords

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