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SET DOMAIN GROUP 708, a histone H3 lysine 36‐specific methyltransferase, controls flowering time in rice ( Oryza sativa )
Author(s) -
Liu Bing,
Wei Gang,
Shi Jinlei,
Jin Jing,
Shen Ting,
Ni Ting,
Shen WenHui,
Yu Yu,
Dong Aiwu
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.13768
Subject(s) - oryza sativa , biology , histone methyltransferase , methyltransferase , histone h3 , chromatin immunoprecipitation , methylation , chromatin , genetics , histone , histone methylation , epigenetics , flowering locus c , mutant , arabidopsis , gene , microbiology and biotechnology , dna methylation , gene expression , promoter
Summary As a key epigenetic modification, the methylation of histone H3 lysine 36 (H3K36) modulates chromatin structure and is involved in diverse biological processes. To better understand the language of H3K36 methylation in rice ( Oryza sativa ), we chose potential histone methylation enzymes for functional exploration. In particular, we characterized rice SET DOMAIN GROUP 708 ( SDG 708) as an H3K36‐specific methyltransferase possessing the ability to deposit up to three methyl groups on H3K36. Compared with the wild‐type, SDG708 ‐knockdown rice mutants displayed a late‐flowering phenotype under both long‐day and short‐day conditions because of the down‐regulation of the key flowering regulatory genes Heading date 3a ( Hd3a ), RICE FLOWERING LOCUS T1 ( RFT1 ), and Early heading date 1 ( Ehd1 ). Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments indicated that H3K36me1, H3K36me2, and H3K36me3 levels were reduced at these loci in SDG708 ‐deficient plants. More importantly, SDG 708 was able to directly target and effect H3K36 methylation on specific flowering genes. In fact, knockdown of SDG708 led to misexpression of a set of functional genes and a genome‐wide decrease in H3K36me1/2/3 levels during the early growth stages of rice. SDG 708 is a methyltransferase that catalyses genome‐wide deposition of all three methyl groups on H3K36 and is involved in many biological processes in addition to flowering promotion.