REPRESSOR OF SILENCING5 Encodes a Member of the Small Heat Shock Protein Family and Is Required for DNA Demethylation in Arabidopsis |
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| Authors: | Yusheng Zhao Shaojun Xie Xiaojie Li Chunlei Wang Zhongzhou Chen Jinsheng Lai Zhizhong Gong |
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| Affiliation: | aState Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China;bState Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China;cNational Maize Improvement Center, Department of Plant Genetics and Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China;dNational Center for Plant Gene Research, Beijing 100193, China |
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| Abstract: | In Arabidopsis thaliana, active DNA demethylation is initiated by the DNA glycosylase REPRESSOR OF SILENCING1 (ROS1) and its paralogs DEMETER, DEMETER-LIKE2 (DML2), and DML3. How these demethylation enzymes are regulated, however, is poorly understood. Here, using a transgenic Arabidopsis line harboring the stress-inducible RESPONSIVE TO DEHYDRATION29A (RD29A) promoter–LUCIFERASE (LUC) reporter gene and the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter (35S)–NEOMYCIN PHOSPHOTRANSFERASE II (NPTII) antibiotic resistance marker gene, we characterize a ROS locus, ROS5, that encodes a protein in the small heat shock protein family. ROS5 mutations lead to the silencing of the 35S-NPTII transgene due to DNA hypermethylation but do not affect the expression of the RD29A-LUC transgene. ROS5 physically interacts with the histone acetyltransferase ROS4/INCREASED DNA METHYLATION1 (IDM1) and is required to prevent the DNA hypermethylation of some genes that are also regulated by ROS1 and IDM1. We propose that ROS5 regulates DNA demethylation by interacting with IDM1, thereby creating a chromatin environment that facilitates the binding of ROS1 to erase DNA methylation. |
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