A new role for histone demethylases in the maintenance of plant genome integrity.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33107825.
- Also identified by DOI 10.7554/eLife.58533 and PMC identifier 7671693.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Histone modifications deposited by the Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) play a critical role in the control of growth, development, and adaptation to environmental fluctuations of most multicellular eukaryotes. The catalytic activity of PRC2 is counteracted by Jumonji-type (JMJ) histone demethylases, which shapes the genomic distribution of H3K27me3. Here, we show that two JMJ histone demethylases in <i>Arabidopsis</i>, EARLY FLOWERING 6 (ELF6) and RELATIVE OF EARLY FLOWERING 6 (REF6), play distinct roles in H3K27me3 and H3K27me1 homeostasis. We show that failure to reset these chromatin marks during sexual reproduction results in the transgenerational inheritance of histone marks, which cause a loss of DNA methylation at heterochromatic loci and transposon activation. Thus, Jumonji-type histone demethylases play a dual role in plants by helping to maintain transcriptional states through development and safeguard genome integrity during sexual reproduction.
Medical subject headings
- Arabidopsis
- Arabidopsis Proteins
- Genome, Plant
- Jumonji Domain-Containing Histone Demethylases
- Transcription Factors