RNA Polymerase IV Functions in Paramutation in Zea mays

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) - Tập 323 Số 5918 - Trang 1201-1205 - 2009
Karl F. Erhard1, Jennifer L. Stonaker1, Susan E. Parkinson1, Jana P. Lim1, Christopher J. Hale1, Jay B. Hollick1
1Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, 111 Koshland Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3102, USA.

Tóm tắt

Plants have distinct RNA polymerase complexes (Pol IV and Pol V) with largely unknown roles in maintaining small RNA–associated gene silencing. Curiously, the eudicot Arabidopsis thaliana is not affected when either function is lost. By use of mutation selection and positional cloning, we showed that the largest subunit of the presumed maize Pol IV is involved in paramutation, an inherited epigenetic change facilitated by an interaction between two alleles, as well as normal maize development. Bioinformatics analyses and nuclear run-on transcription assays indicate that Pol IV does not engage in the efficient RNA synthesis typical of the three major eukaryotic DNA-dependent RNA polymerases. These results indicate that Pol IV employs abnormal RNA polymerase activities to achieve genome-wide silencing and that its absence affects both maize development and heritable epigenetic changes.

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We thank X. Parisky for technical assistance; N. Bolduc for providing nucleic acid samples; S. McCormick and D. Zilberman for comments; and the maize Sorghum bicolor and Brachypodium genome-sequencing projects for providing sequence information before publication. Brachypodium and Sorghum bicolor sequences were produced by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (www.jgi.doe.gov/). cDNA sequences for Rmr6-A619 rmr6-1 rmr6-7 rmr6-8 and rmr6-14 are archived under GenBank accession numbers FJ426107 to FJ426111 respectively. Germ plasm containing mutations in the rmr6 gene is covered by U.S. patent 07264970 awarded to the Regents of the University of California. Supported by the National Research Initiative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service (grants 99-35301-7753 2001-35301-10641 and 2006-35304-17399) and NSF (grant MCB-0419909).

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American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Tập 323 Số 5918

1201-1205

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