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- Title
Production of aberrant promoter transcripts contributes to methylation and silencing of unlinked homologous promoters in trans.
- Authors
Mette, M. F.; van der Winden, J.; Matzke, M. A.; Matzke, A. J.
- Abstract
Previous work has suggested that de novo methylation of plant nuclear genes can be triggered by an RNADNA interaction. To test whether transcription of a promoter would induce de novo methylation and silencing of unlinked genes driven by the same promoter, a chimeric ‘gene’ consisting of a nopaline synthase promoter (NOSpro) positioned downstream of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter (35Spro) and flanked at the 3′ end by a NOS terminator (NOSter) was constructed and introduced into the genome of a plant that normally expresses an unmethylated NOSpro-neomycinphosphotransferase (nptII) gene. Transformants were tested for kanamycin resistance and NOSpro RNA synthesis. Most produced a full-length polyadenylated NOSpro RNA, which did not induce silencing or methylation at the NOSpro-nptII target gene. One, however, contained truncated non-polyadenylated NOSpro RNA; in this plant, the NOSpro-nptII gene became silenced and methylated in the NOSpro region. Molecular analysis of the NOSpro silencing locus revealed two incomplete copies of the 35Spro-NOSpro gene arranged as an inverted repeat with NOSpro sequences at the center. Reducing NOS-pro transcription by crossing a 35Spro-silencing locus partially reactivated nptII gene expression and decreased NOSpro methylation at the target locus, thus implicating aberrant NOSpro RNA in this trans-silencing phenomenon.
- Subjects
PROMOTERS (Genetics); GENETIC transcription; GENE silencing; GENETIC regulation; METHYLATION; HOMOLOGY (Biology)
- Publication
EMBO Journal, 1999, Vol 18, Issue 1, p241
- ISSN
0261-4189
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/emboj/18.1.241