Characterizing rmr10, a Novel Gene Involved in Paramutation
Loading...
Date
2023-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
Paramutation is a meiotically heritable alteration of gene regulation influenced by allelic interactions. Mechanisms of heritable epigenetic regulation like paramutation are not well understood and can affect human disease states, like type II diabetes. The phenomena of paramutation can be studied at the purple plant 1 (pl1) locus in Zea mays (maize). The pl1 gene is responsible for anthocyanin pigmentation in the anthers of maize plants. The Pl1-Rhoades (Pl-Rh) allele exists in two distinct, epigenetic states. Pl-Rh is the functioning state of the allele that allows for maize pigmentation, and Pl′ denotes a repressed state where pigmentation is suppressed. The Pl-Rh epigenetic state can change from Pl-Rh to Pl′ in a plant.
Rmr10 is a novel, largely uncharacterized genetic locus required for paramutation at the pl1 locus. It is hypothesized that a molecule encoded by rmr10 represses Pl-Rh transcription, but preliminary qRT-PCR data showed no pl1 mRNA differences between rmr10-1 mutants and non-mutant siblings.6 I have generated mRNA-sequencing libraries to compare pl1 mRNA levels more quantitatively between rmr10 mutants and their heterozygous siblings. I then used previous rmr10-1 whole genome sequencing data to identify potential candidate mutant gene models. From there, I designed primers to amplify the chosen potential candidate gene models from homozygous rmr10-2 samples and evaluated the amplicons for novel mutational lesions. Collectively, my results support the idea that the candidate gene model for the rmr10 locus is topless-related protein 2, an ortholog of a known transcriptional co-repressor in Arabidopsis that is expected to affect pigmentation.
Description
Keywords
epigenetics, paramutation, maize, genetics