Crucial function of histone lysine methylation in plant reproduction

Unlike animals, plants do not set aside germ cells early in development. In angiosperm species, reproduction occurs in the adult plant upon flowering. The multicellular male and female gametophytes differentiate from meiotic products within reproductive floral organs. Double fertilization is another remarkable feature of most angiosperm species. The zygote derived from fertilization of the egg cell by one of the sperm cells and the endosperm from fertilization of the central cell by the second sperm cell develop in a coordinated manner together and enclosed in the sporophytic maternal integuments, forming the seed. Understanding plant reproduction is biologically pertinent and agronomically and ecologically important. Here, we describe the known functions of histone lysine methylations in various steps of reproduction in the reference plant Arabidopsis thaliana. It is emerging that histone lysine methylation is key for understanding epigenetic regulation networks of genome function.     

水稻表观遗传的研究进展

从DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰的形成条件及其作用机制等方面,对表观遗传学的一些常见的发生机制进行了简要综述,并对表观遗传在水稻中研究的前景作了展望．     

植物分枝的奥秘——植物分枝激素独脚金内酯的感知机制

 植物激素调控植物的繁衍生息,与人类生存环境和农业生产密切相关;阐明植物激素被其受体感知的机制,对于揭示植物生命活动的本质具有重要意义。植物的分枝主要受到独脚金内酯等重要植物激素的精准调控。简要综述了植物激素独脚金内酯的作用机理,特别是该激素被其受体感知的机制方面近年来取得的重要进展：系统阐明了单子叶模式植物/作物水稻、双子叶模式植物拟南芥以及寄生杂草独脚金中独脚金内酯被其受体感知的机制,为作物株型改良和消除寄生杂草提供了重要理论指导;开创性地揭示了该新型“受体-激素”感知机制不同于生物学领域过去百年建立的配体,可逆地结合受体、并循环触发信号传导链的“配体-受体”识别理论,为创立“受体-配体”不可逆识别的新理论奠定了重要基础。     

Plant genomic DNA methylation in response to stresses:Potential applications and challenges in plant breeding

The plant genome can respond rapidly and dynamically to stress in a manner that overcomes the restrictions of a highly stable DNA sequence. Abiotic stresses such as chilling, planting density, rubbing, cutting, and successive rounds of subculture generally decrease the levels of DNA methylation. The opposite effect is seen for salt stress, and the effects of heavy-metal stress are species specific. Biotic stresses such as pathogenic infection can lead to two contrasting effects on the levels of methylation in plants: hypermethylation on the genome-wide level and hypomethylation of resistance-related genes. Both phenomena may contribute to the adaptation of plants to stress. Although heritable methylation patterns and phenotypic variations that arise in response to stress are of potential value for plant breeding, their exploitation presents great challenges.     

卵巢癌中的表观遗传修饰

介绍了在卵巢癌的发展和治疗中表观遗传学的重要性，特别强调了在卵巢癌中内源性和获得性耐药性遗传途径中异常的DNA甲基化和组蛋白去乙酰化的重要性．通过表观遗传治疗反转肿瘤抑制基因沉寂和其他参与药物级联反应的基因沉寂为出现耐药性的卵巢癌患者带来了新的希望．     

Analysis of DNA methylation variation in wheat genetic background after alien chromatin introduction based on methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism

During the process of alien germplasm introduced into wheat genome by chromosome engineering, extensive genetic variations of genome structure and gene expression in recipient could be induced. In this study, we performed GISH （genome in situ hybridization） and AFLP （amplified fragment length polymorphism） on wheat-rye chromosome translocation lines and their parents to detect the identity in genomic structure of different translocation lines. The results showed that the genome primary structure variations were not obviously detected in different translocation lines except the same 1RS chromosome translocation. Methylation sensitive amplification polymorphism （MSAP） analyses on genomic DNA showed that the ratios of fully-methylated sites were significantly increased in translocation lines （CN12, 20.15%; CN17, 20.91%; CN18, 22.42%）, but the ratios of hemimethylated sites were significantly lowered （CN12, 21.41%; CN17, 23.43%; CN18, 22.42%）, whereas 16.37% were fully-methylated and 25.44% were hemimethylated in case of their wheat parent. Twenty-nine classes of methylation patterns were identified in a comparative assay of cytosine methylation patterns between wheat-rye translocation lines and their wheat parent, including 13 hypermethylation patterns （33.74%）, 9 demethylation patterns （22.76%） and 7 uncertain patterns （4.07%）. In further sequence analysis, the alterations of methylation pattern affected both repetitive DNA sequences, such as retrotransposons and tandem repetitive sequences, and low-copy DNA.     

三种植物激素对紫丁香扦插的影响

通过对实验结果的分析比较,表明NAAI、BA和ABT对紫丁香插穗生根率的作用效果显著,但三种激素作用效果之间相比无显著差异,且它们的最佳作用浓度和处理方式不同.因此三种激素处理效果的主要依据是对根系发育状况的影响.结果是采用ABT处理比IBA和NAA效果好.试验说明其最佳质量比范围是100 mg/kg.在激素处理中,应用IBA会增加愈伤组织的形成,但发现有些穗条形成大量愈伤组织而形成根少,且IBA的应用有抑制枝生长的现象,故在丁香的扦插中使用IBA的作用并不理想.紫丁香中下部的枝条成活率较之上部的高出许多.二年生的枝条的成活率最高,尤其以二年生的生根粉的效果最好,为49.1%,比一年生和多年生的要高出15%左右.综合来看,丁香采用2年生枝条做插条,利用生根粉处理,配合保湿遮荫措施即可达到60%以上的成活率.     

人间充质干细胞成骨分化早期HOX家族基因转录的表观遗传调控

人间充质干细胞(human mesenchymal stem cells,hMSCs)是一类具有多分化潜能的成体干细胞,在体内外可以被人工定向诱导分化成多种不同的细胞.有报道表明,在干细胞分化的过程中,细胞核内染色质发生重塑.HOX家族基因作为一类转录因子,在胚胎发育以及细胞分化过程中发挥着十分重要作用.通过体外定向诱导骨髓间充质干细胞向成骨细胞分化,对比分化前后细胞中HOX家族基因的表达状况,发现HOX家族基因的表达水平在hMSCs早期成骨分化过程中显著下降.进一步的研究发现,HOX家族基因的这种表达变化是由其启动子区的组蛋白H3-Lys9乙酰化和二甲基化水平发生变化而导致的.一系列实验证据表明,在间充质干细胞的成骨分化过程中,HOX家族基因表达受到抑制,而这种抑制作用是与其分化过程中发生的染色质重塑事件密切相关的.     

表观遗传学研究进展

 概述了表观遗传调节模式、表观遗传调节的效应、植物表观遗传学的研究进展等。在每种细胞中,都会发生一部分特异基因激活、另一部分基因抑制的现象,形成多种基因表达模式。表观遗传指DNA序列不发生变化,而基因表达发生可遗传改变的现象。表观遗传学改变包括DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰、非编码RNA作用等,产生基因组印记、母性影响、基因沉默、核仁显性、休眠转座子激活等效应。表观遗传变异是环境因素和细胞内遗传物质间交互作用的结果,其效应通过调节基因表达,控制生物学表型来实现。正是因为表观修饰对于维持生物体内环境和各器官系统功能的重要性,表观遗传的异常会引发疾病,这也成为药物和治疗方案设计的着眼点。     

植物生长调节剂对剑兰继代培养中芽形成的影响

用3种植物生长调节剂对剑兰继代培养中芽形成的影响进行了研究。结果表明：植物生长调节剂对继代芽的增殖有较大的影响,多效唑（PP333）和烯效唑（S3307）分别单独使用时,能显著促进芽增殖的浓度均为2.0 mg/L,而水杨酸（SA）在使用浓度为0.5 mg/L时,对剑兰继代芽增殖具有促进作用。     

p53-dependent upregulation of PIG3 transcription by γ-ray irradiation and its interaction with KAP1 in responding to DNA damage

PIG3 (p53-inducible gene 3), originally identified as one of a set of genes induced by p53 before the onset of apoptosis, was assumed to contribute to early cellular response to DNA damage. Here, we studied the relation between p53 status and the increased expression of PIG3 by ionizing radiation (IR), and the related clues regarding the involvement of PIG3 in the cellular response to IR-induced DNA damage signaling. We demonstrated that the pentanucleotide microsatellite sequence was responsible for the p5...     

Habitat-induced reciprocal transformation in the root phenotype of Oriental ginseng is associated with alteration in DNA methylation

Oriental ginseng is an important medicinal plant that grows in 2 major forms or ecotypes, wild and domesticated. Each form differs conspicuously in root phenotype, but can be converted from one type to another by habitat. Here we show that the habitat-induced transformation of ginseng root phenotype was accompanied by alteration in cytosine methylation at a large number of 5′-CCGG-3′ sites detected by the methylation-sensitive polymorphism (MSAP) marker. The collective CG and CHG methylation levels of all 4 landraces of the domesticated form were significantly lower than those of the wild form. Interestingly, artificially transplanted ginseng plants recreated in both directions the methylation levels (at least in CHG) of their natural counterparts. The methylation differences between the 2 ginseng ecotypes were validated at 2 isolated MSAP loci bearing homology to a 5S rRNA gene or a copia retrotransposon. Our results implicate a link between epigenetic variation and habitat-induced phenotypic flexibility in Oriental ginseng.     

Systemic defense signaling in tomato

The wound-inducible expression of proteinase inhibitors （PIs） genes in tomato provides a powerful model system to elucidate the signal transduction pathway of systemic defense response. An increasing body of evidence indicates that systemin and jasmonic acid （JA） work in the same signaling pathway to activate the expression of Pls and other defense-related genes. However, little is known about how systemin and JA interact to regulate cell to cell communication over long distances. Genetic analysis of the systemin/JA signaling pathway in tomato plants provides a unique opportunity to dissect the mechanism by which peptide and oxylipin signals interact to coordinate systemic expression of defense-related genes. Previously, it has been proposed that systemin is the long-distance mobile signal for systemic expression of defense related genes. However, recent genetic approach provided new evidence that jasmonic acid, rather than systemin, functions as the systemic wound signal, and that the peptide systemin works to regulate the biosynthesis of JA.     

MS-RDA的改进及在白背飞虱的应用研究*

甲基化敏感性代表性差异分析方法（MS-RDA）适用于特异、低丰度基因组DNA甲基化的筛查与鉴定,已大量应用于哺乳动物的疾病发生和植物发育机理方面的研究,但昆虫中尚未发现该方法的应用。从DNA提取、酶切、扩增子制备、消减杂交等方面对该方法进行了改进,并在水稻重要害虫白背飞虱上得到成功应用,获得了4条与雌、雄性别相关联的特异性甲基化差异条带,其中有3条序列已被GenBank收录,登陆号分别为JX847621、JX624161、JX472453,经BLAST比对,有3条未发现同源性序列,属于功能未知的新基因;同时还获得了2条与长短翅型相关联的特异性甲基化差异条带,也已被 GenBank 收录,登陆号分别为 JX514031、JX472454,同源性分析发现与多种动物的18S核糖体和28S核糖体RNA基因序列高度相似,因此有关核糖体基因的甲基化可能对白背飞虱的翅型分化起到一定的调控作用。     

Ethylene signaling in rice

Ethylene regulates many aspects of growth, development and responses to environmental stresses in plants. Its signaling pathway has been established in model dicotyledonous plant Arabidopsis. However, its roles and signal transduction in monocotyledous rice plant remain largely unknown. In this review, we summarize the current advances in rice ethylene signaling studies and compare these with the results from Arabidopsis and other plants. Most of the components homologous to those in Arabidopsis ethylene signaling pathway have been found in rice, including five ethylene receptors, OsEIN2, OsEIL1, and OsERFs. Rice ethylene receptors are functionally more divergent than that of Arabidopsis. OsEIN2 and OsEIL1 display limited roles in regulation of rice ethylene responses compared with their Arabidopsis orthologs. ERF-like proteins OsERF1 and OsEBP-89 appear to be involved in rice ethylene signaling. However, whether they are activated through OsEIN2 and OsEIL1-mediated pathway needs further studies. Given that rice uses ethylene to control many processes that do not exist in Arabidopsis, it seems that new components or new mechanisms may exist in rice ethylene signaling pathway.     

Speciation- induced heritable cytosine methylation changes in polyploid wheat

To study possible epigenetic changes accompanying polyploid speciation, genomic DNA from natural polyploid wheats and their putative diploid progenitors were digested with a pair of isoschizomers Hpa II / Msp I and hybridized to 21 different types of low-copy DNA sequences. It was found that cytosine methylation changes were abundant in natural polyploid wheats after their speciation. The hybridization of the same set of sequences to a synthetic hexaploid wheat along with its parental lines indicated that the extensive DNA methylation changes already existed in the early generations (S5, S6 and Sy) of this plant. Moreover, the high similarity of the changed restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns among three randomly chosen individual plants suggested that the methylation changes occurred even earlier, and/or were of a nonrandom nature. The changed patterns were stably inherited in the three successive selfed generations. Though methylation changes are probably a genome-wide occurrence, they appeared to be confined to the specific types of DNA sequences. The possible implications of the rapid and extensive cytosine methylation changes for several attributes of allopolyploid genome evolution, such as genetic diploidization and gene diversification, are discussed .     

Fast evolution of growth hormone receptor in primates and ruminants

Pituitary growth hormone (GH) evolves very slowly in most of mammals, but the evolutionary rates appear to have increased markedly on two occasions during the evolution of primates and ruminants. To investigate the evolutionary pattern of growth hormone receptor (GHR), we sequenced the extracellular domain of GHR genes from four primate species. Our results suggested that GHR in mammal also shows an episodic evolutionary pattern, which is consistent with that observed in pituitary growth hormone. Further analysis suggested that this pattern of rapid evolution observed in primates and ruminants is likely the result of coevolution between pituitary growth hormone and its receptor.