The MADS-box transcription factor PHERES1 controls imprinting in the endosperm by binding to domesticated transposons
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
Abstract
MADS-box transcription factors (TFs) are ubiquitous in eukaryotic organisms and play major roles during plant development. Nevertheless, their function in seed development remains largely unknown. Here we show that the imprinted Arabidopsis thaliana MADS-box TF PHERES1 (PHE1) is a master regulator of paternally expressed imprinted genes, as well as of non-imprinted key regulators of endosperm development. PHE1 binding sites show distinct epigenetic modifications on maternal and paternal alleles, correlating with parental-specific transcriptional activity. Importantly, we show that the CArG-box-like DNA-binding motifs bound by PHE1 have been distributed by RC/Helitron transposable elements. Our data provide an example of molecular domestication of these elements, which by distributing PHE1 binding sites throughout the genome, have facilitated the recruitment of crucial endosperm regulators into a single transcriptional network.
Article and author information
Author details
Duarte D Figueiredo
Funding
Vetenskapsrådet
- Claudia Köhler
Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse
- Claudia Köhler
Goran Gustafsson Foundation for Research in Natural Sciences and Medicine
- Claudia Köhler
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Reviewing Editor
- Daniel Zilberman, John Innes Centre, United Kingdom
Publication history
- Received: July 26, 2019
- Accepted: November 30, 2019
- Accepted Manuscript published: December 2, 2019 (version 1)
Copyright
© 2019, Batista et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Further reading
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- Genetics and Genomics
- Human Biology and Medicine
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- Genetics and Genomics
