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Hyperosmotic stress memory in Arabidopsis is mediated by distinct epigenetically labile sites in the genome and is restricted in the male germline by DNA glycosylase activity

Authors :
Anjar Wibowo
Claude Becker
Gianpiero Marconi
Julius Durr
Jonathan Price
Jorg Hagmann
Ranjith Papareddy
Hadi Putra
Jorge Kageyama
Jorg Becker
Detlef Weigel
Jose Gutierrez-Marcos
Source :
eLife, Vol 5 (2016)
Publication Year :
2016
Publisher :
eLife Sciences Publications Ltd, 2016.

Abstract

Inducible epigenetic changes in eukaryotes are believed to enable rapid adaptation to environmental fluctuations. We have found distinct regions of the Arabidopsis genome that are susceptible to DNA (de)methylation in response to hyperosmotic stress. The stress-induced epigenetic changes are associated with conditionally heritable adaptive phenotypic stress responses. However, these stress responses are primarily transmitted to the next generation through the female lineage due to widespread DNA glycosylase activity in the male germline, and extensively reset in the absence of stress. Using the CNI1/ATL31 locus as an example, we demonstrate that epigenetically targeted sequences function as distantly-acting control elements of antisense long non-coding RNAs, which in turn regulate targeted gene expression in response to stress. Collectively, our findings reveal that plants use a highly dynamic maternal ‘short-term stress memory’ with which to respond to adverse external conditions. This transient memory relies on the DNA methylation machinery and associated transcriptional changes to extend the phenotypic plasticity accessible to the immediate offspring.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
2050084X
Volume :
5
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
eLife
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.3b94b0b36cf14fc5ad92c897cf7713d9
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.13546