Presentation Information
[1ASPR-11]Engineering regenerative competence via epigenetic priming in Arabidopsis thaliana
○Nodoka Handa1 (1. The University of Tokyo (Japan))
Keywords:
Plant regeneration,Cell fate reprogramming,Epigenetic priming
Regeneration is a fundamental process that reconstructs or generates new cells, tissues, and organs. Living organisms possess regenerative capacity in response to injury or aging. Plants, in particular, exhibit remarkable regenerative capacity, as their differentiated cells can readily dedifferentiate into a pluripotent state. Humans have utilized plant regenerative capacity through practices such as grafting and cutting to advance horticulture and agriculture. However, efficient regeneration systems have not been established for all plant species.
In molecular biology, extensive research has focused on uncovering the mechanisms underlying plant regeneration. These studies suggest that epigenetic regulators, including factors that modulate gene expression, are key determinants of this process. More recently, a novel regulatory mechanism has been proposed: epigenetic priming, in which genes are maintained in a transcriptionally poised state through epigenetic modifications. Although the importance of this mechanism has been demonstrated in humans and other organisms, its molecular basis in plant regeneration remains largely unknown.
In Arabidopsis thaliana, the epigenetic modification factor LYSINE-SPECIFIC DEMETHYLASE 1-LIKE 3 (LDL3) specifically removes H3K4me2 in the callus, a pluripotent cell mass. Removal of H3K4me2 by LDL3 does not immediately alter the expression of its target genes but is essential for their subsequent activation during shoot induction. Through this process, LDL3 establishes a transcriptionally poised state at target genes, thereby functioning as an epigenetic priming factor in regeneration. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying LDL3 cooperation with other factors remain unclear.
In this study, we performed cis-element enrichment analysis of LDL3-primed genes (LPGs) to identify potential transcription factors (TFs) involved in this process. Candidate TFs physically interacted with LDL3 in the nucleus and were essential for proper shoot regeneration and LPG expression. To further resolve histone modification dynamics during regeneration, we initiated an international collaboration to establish a Cleavage Under Targets and Tagmentation (CUT&Tag)-based analysis platform for shoot regeneration. This strategy addresses the limitations of conventional Chromatin Immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq) in low-input plant tissues and will enable high-resolution mapping of histone modification dynamics during cell fate reprogramming.
Together, our findings reveal that LDL3 cooperates with sequence-specific TFs to establish epigenetic priming that defines regenerative competence. Through profiling high-resolution histone modifications involving the epigenetic priming complex, this work provides a conceptual and technical framework for engineering regeneration capacity in plants.
In molecular biology, extensive research has focused on uncovering the mechanisms underlying plant regeneration. These studies suggest that epigenetic regulators, including factors that modulate gene expression, are key determinants of this process. More recently, a novel regulatory mechanism has been proposed: epigenetic priming, in which genes are maintained in a transcriptionally poised state through epigenetic modifications. Although the importance of this mechanism has been demonstrated in humans and other organisms, its molecular basis in plant regeneration remains largely unknown.
In Arabidopsis thaliana, the epigenetic modification factor LYSINE-SPECIFIC DEMETHYLASE 1-LIKE 3 (LDL3) specifically removes H3K4me2 in the callus, a pluripotent cell mass. Removal of H3K4me2 by LDL3 does not immediately alter the expression of its target genes but is essential for their subsequent activation during shoot induction. Through this process, LDL3 establishes a transcriptionally poised state at target genes, thereby functioning as an epigenetic priming factor in regeneration. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying LDL3 cooperation with other factors remain unclear.
In this study, we performed cis-element enrichment analysis of LDL3-primed genes (LPGs) to identify potential transcription factors (TFs) involved in this process. Candidate TFs physically interacted with LDL3 in the nucleus and were essential for proper shoot regeneration and LPG expression. To further resolve histone modification dynamics during regeneration, we initiated an international collaboration to establish a Cleavage Under Targets and Tagmentation (CUT&Tag)-based analysis platform for shoot regeneration. This strategy addresses the limitations of conventional Chromatin Immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq) in low-input plant tissues and will enable high-resolution mapping of histone modification dynamics during cell fate reprogramming.
Together, our findings reveal that LDL3 cooperates with sequence-specific TFs to establish epigenetic priming that defines regenerative competence. Through profiling high-resolution histone modifications involving the epigenetic priming complex, this work provides a conceptual and technical framework for engineering regeneration capacity in plants.
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