MATERNALLY EXPRESSED PAB C-TERMINAL, a novel imprinted gene in Arabidopsis, encodes the conserved C-terminal domain of polyadenylate binding proteins

Plant Cell. 2008 Sep;20(9):2387-98. doi: 10.1105/tpc.108.061929. Epub 2008 Sep 16.

Abstract

Parental imprinting is important for seed development, but few imprinted genes have been identified in plants. The four known imprinted genes in Arabidopsis thaliana encode transcriptional regulators. Here, we describe a novel imprinted gene, MATERNALLY EXPRESSED PAB C-TERMINAL (MPC), which encodes the C-terminal domain of poly(A) binding proteins (PABPs). PABPs play roles in mRNA stability and translation. MPC interacts with proteins that also interact with the C-terminal domain of typical PABPs, suggesting that MPC may regulate translation by modulating PABP activity. In the endosperm, MPC is expressed only from the maternal allele. Reduction of MPC expression affects seed development. In dna methyltransferase1 (met1) mutants, MPC is ectopically expressed, and the paternal allele is active in the endosperm. CGs in the 5' flanking region and gene body of MPC lose methylation in a met1 background. Both regions are required to confer imprinted reporter expression, suggesting that the gene body contains imprinting control region elements. In Arabidopsis, DEMETER (DME) activates expression of maternal alleles. MPC expression is reduced in flowers and seeds in a dme-4 mutant but only after fertilization in dme-1. We conclude that other factors along with DME promote MPC expression and that DME has indirect effects on imprinted gene expression in endosperm.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alleles
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Arabidopsis / genetics*
  • Arabidopsis / growth & development
  • Arabidopsis / metabolism
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / genetics*
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / metabolism
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / physiology
  • Binding Sites / genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
  • Microscopy, Confocal
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Poly(A)-Binding Proteins / genetics*
  • Poly(A)-Binding Proteins / metabolism
  • Poly(A)-Binding Proteins / physiology
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Seeds / genetics*
  • Seeds / growth & development
  • Seeds / metabolism
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid

Substances

  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • Poly(A)-Binding Proteins