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Reprogramming of DNA methylation critical for nodule development

Reprogramming of DNA methylation is critical for nodule development in Medicago truncatula

The legume–Rhizobium symbiosis leads to the formation of a new organ, the root nodule, involving coordinated and massive induction of specific genes. Several genes controlling DNA methylation are spatially regulated within the Medicago truncatula nodule, with notably a demethylase gene, DEMETER (DME), mostly expressed in the differentiation zone.

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© C. Satgé et P. Gamas

Here, we show that MtDME is essential for nodule development and regulates the expression of 1,425 genes, certain critical for plant and bacterial cell differentiation. Bisulphite sequencing coupled to genomic capture enabled the identification of 474 regions that are differentially methylated during nodule development, including notably Nodulespecific Cysteine-Rich peptide genes. Decreasing DME expression by RNA interference led to hypermethylation and concomitant downregulation of 400 genes, most of them associated with nodule differentiation. Massive reprogramming of gene expression through DNA demethylation is a new epigenetic mechanism controlling a key stage of indeterminate nodule organogenesis during symbiotic interactions.

See also

Carine Satgé, Sandra Moreau, Erika Sallet, Gaëlle Lefort, Marie-Christine Auriac, Céline Remblière, Ludovic Cottret, Karine Gallardo, Céline Noirot, Marie-Françoise Jardinaud, Pascal Gamas. (2016). Reprogramming of DNA methylation is critical for nodule development in Medicago truncatula. Nature Plants, 31;2:16166 (2016).

Modification date : 07 June 2023 | Publication date : 15 November 2016 | Redactor : Gamas Pascal & Cassiède-Berjon Guillaume