GSE147587 A mechanism for imprinted expression of EIN2 to regulate seed development in Arabidopsis

Contributors : Atsumi Ando ; Qingxin Song ; Hong Qiao ; Z. J ChenSeries Type : Expression profiling by high throughput sequencingOrganism : Arabidopsis thalianaSeed size is affected by genetic mutations and imprinting. Imprinting is a widespread epigenetic phenomenon in mammals and flowering plants. In plants the majority of imprinted genes are involved in the development of endosperm, a nutritious tissue that resembles functionally the placenta in mammals. However, there is little overlap among hundreds of imprinted genes identified in different plant species or different ecotypes within the same species. ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE2 (EIN2) encodes an essential signal molecule that links the ethylene perception on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to transcriptional regulation in the nucleus. Interestingly, EIN2 is an imprinted gene in both Arabidopsis and maize, and is maternally expressed in the endosperm. The function of most imprinted genes including EIN2 is largely unknown in plants, while mutations of some imprinted genes do not have obvious effects on seed size. Here we show that seed size increases when the ein2 mutant is used in a genetic cross; the imprinting effect of EIN2 on seed size occurs in the endosperm from the heart stage and regulates endosperm cellularization. The maternally imprinted expression of EIN2 in the endosperm is controlled by DNA methylation but not by the ethylene. EIN2 may act through ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE3 (EIN3), which regulates target genes like AGAM...
Source: GEO: Gene Expression Omnibus - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: Expression profiling by high throughput sequencing Arabidopsis thaliana Source Type: research