SDG102, a H3K36-Methyltransferase-Encoding Gene, Plays Pleiotropic Roles in Growth and Development of Maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.)
Although histone lysine methylation has been studied in thale cress (<i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> (L.) Heynh.) and rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.) in recent years, its function in maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) remains poorly characterized. To better understand the funct...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-07-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/13/7458 |
| Summary: | Although histone lysine methylation has been studied in thale cress (<i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> (L.) Heynh.) and rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.) in recent years, its function in maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) remains poorly characterized. To better understand the function of histone lysine methylation in maize, SDG102, a H3 lysine 36 (H3K36) methylase, was chosen for functional characterization using overexpressed and knockout transgenic plants. SDG102-deficiency in maize caused multiple phenotypes including yellow leaves in seedlings, late-flowering, and increased adult plant height, while the overexpression of <i>SDG102</i> led to reduced adult plant height. The key flowering genes, <i>ZCN8/ZCN7</i> and <i>MADS4/MADA67</i>, were downregulated in SDG102-deficient plants. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) experiments showed that H3 lysine 36 trimethylation (H3K36me3) levels were reduced at these loci. Perturbation of <i>SDG102</i> expression caused the misexpression of multiple genes. Interestingly, the overexpression or knockout of <i>SDG102</i> also led to genome-wide decreases and increases in the H3K36me3 levels, respectively. Together, our results suggest that SDG102 is a methyltransferase that catalyzes the trimethylation of H3K36 of many genes across the maize genome, which are involved in multiple biological processes including those controlling flowering time. |
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| ISSN: | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |