Molecular mechanisms in the developmental regulation of the maize Suppressor-mutator transposable element.
Open Access
- 1 November 1988
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Genes & Development
- Vol. 2 (11), 1364-1380
- https://doi.org/10.1101/gad.2.11.1364
Abstract
The maize Suppressor-mutator (Spm) element can exist in one of three heritable forms: (1) a stably active form, (2) a stably inactive form, termed cryptic, and (3) a labile form, here termed programmable, in which the element exhibits one of a variety of heritable developmental programs of expression. Active elements are transcribed and are hypomethylated at sites upstream of the transcription start site, whereas inactive elements are transcriptionally silent and largely methylated at the upstream sites. Active (both stable and programmable), inactive programmable, and cryptic elements are unmethylated, partially methylated, and fully methylated, respectively, at sites within an 0.35-kb 80% G + C region just downstream from the transcription start site. An active Spm element in a genome with a cryptic element promotes its partial demethylation but not its transcriptional activation. In contrast, a trans-acting Spm promotes extensive demethylation and transcriptional activation of an inactive programmable element, as well as its heritable reactivation. These observations define the molecular components of the Spm element's developmental regulatory mechanism. We discuss their general relevance to the developmental regulation of gene expression.This publication has 29 references indexed in Scilit:
- Reactivation of the Mutator transposable element system following gamma irradiation of seedMolecular Genetics and Genomics, 1988
- DNA methylation and gene activityCell, 1988
- The Inheritance of Epigenetic DefectsScience, 1987
- Specificity of restriction endonucleases and methylases — a review (edition 2)Gene, 1986
- Transposase activity of the Ac controlling element in maize is regulated by its degree of methylationMolecular Genetics and Genomics, 1986
- DNA modification of a maize transposable element correlates with loss of activity.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1986
- Rapid transfer of DNA from agarose gels to nylon membranesNucleic Acids Research, 1985
- Isolation of the transposable maize controlling elements Ac and DsCell, 1983
- An unusual transposon encoding heat shock inducible and developmentally regulated transcripts in DictyosteliumCell, 1983
- Sequence specificity of methylation in higher plant DNANature, 1981