Transcriptional and imprinting complexity in Arabidopsis seeds at single-nucleus resolution
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nihms-1694741.pdf
Description
Accepted version
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5.79 MB
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Author(s)
Picard, Colette L
Povilus, Rebecca A
Williams, Ben P
Gehring, Mary
Date Issued
2021
Journal
Nature Plants
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Citation
Picard, Colette L, Povilus, Rebecca A, Williams, Ben P and Gehring, Mary. 2021. "Transcriptional and imprinting complexity in Arabidopsis seeds at single-nucleus resolution." Nature Plants, 7 (6).
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Seeds are a key life cycle stage for many plants. Seeds are also the basis of agriculture and the primary source of calories consumed by humans1. Here, we employ single-nucleus RNA-sequencing to generate a transcriptional atlas of developing Arabidopsis thaliana seeds, with a focus on endosperm. Endosperm, the primary site of gene imprinting in flowering plants, mediates the relationship between the maternal parent and the embryo2. We identify transcriptionally uncharacterized nuclei types in the chalazal endosperm, which interfaces with maternal tissue for nutrient unloading3,4. We demonstrate that the extent of parental bias of maternally expressed imprinted genes varies with cell-cycle phase, and that imprinting of paternally expressed imprinted genes is strongest in chalazal endosperm. Thus, imprinting is spatially and temporally heterogeneous. Increased paternal expression in the chalazal region suggests that parental conflict, which is proposed to drive imprinting evolution, is fiercest at the boundary between filial and maternal tissues.
MIT Department
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Computational and Systems Biology Program
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1038/S41477-021-00922-0
