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      Transgene-Induced Gene Silencing Is Not Affected by a Change in Ploidy Level

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          Abstract

          Background

          Whole genome duplication, which results in polyploidy, is a common feature of plant populations and a recurring event in the evolution of flowering plants. Polyploidy can result in changes to gene expression and epigenetic instability. Several epigenetic phenomena, occurring at the transcriptional or post-transcriptional level, have been documented in allopolyploids (polyploids derived from species hybrids) of Arabidopsis thaliana, yet findings in autopolyploids (polyploids derived from the duplication of the genome of a single species) are limited. Here, we tested the hypothesis that an increase in ploidy enhances transgene-induced post-transcriptional gene silencing using autopolyploids of A. thaliana.

          Methodology/Principal Findings

          Diploid and tetraploid individuals of four independent homozygous transgenic lines of A. thaliana transformed with chalcone synthase (CHS) inverted repeat (hairpin) constructs were generated. For each line diploids and tetraploids were compared for efficiency in post-transcriptional silencing of the endogenous CHS gene. The four lines differed substantially in their silencing efficiency. Yet, diploid and tetraploid plants derived from these plants and containing therefore identical transgene insertions showed no difference in the efficiency silencing CHS as assayed by visual scoring, anthocyanin assays and quantification of CHS mRNA.

          Conclusions/Significance

          Our results in A. thaliana indicated that there is no effect of ploidy level on transgene-induced post-transcriptional gene silencing. Our findings that post-transcriptional mechanisms were equally effective in diploids and tetraploids supports the use of transgene-driven post-transcriptional gene silencing as a useful mechanism to modify gene expression in polyploid species.

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          Most cited references21

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          The significance of responses of the genome to challenge.

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            Genetic and epigenetic mechanisms for gene expression and phenotypic variation in plant polyploids.

            Polyploidy, or whole-genome duplication (WGD), is an important genomic feature for all eukaryotes, especially many plants and some animals. The common occurrence of polyploidy suggests an evolutionary advantage of having multiple sets of genetic material for adaptive evolution. However, increased gene and genome dosages in autopolyploids (duplications of a single genome) and allopolyploids (combinations of two or more divergent genomes) often cause genome instabilities, chromosome imbalances, regulatory incompatibilities, and reproductive failures. Therefore, new allopolyploids must establish a compatible relationship between alien cytoplasm and nuclei and between two divergent genomes, leading to rapid changes in genome structure, gene expression, and developmental traits such as fertility, inbreeding, apomixis, flowering time, and hybrid vigor. Although the underlying mechanisms for these changes are poorly understood, some themes are emerging. There is compelling evidence that changes in DNA sequence, cis- and trans-acting effects, chromatin modifications, RNA-mediated pathways, and regulatory networks modulate differential expression of homoeologous genes and phenotypic variation that may facilitate adaptive evolution in polyploid plants and domestication in crops.
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              The diversity of RNA silencing pathways in plants.

              RNA silencing was discovered in plants as a mechanism whereby invading nucleic acids, such as transgenes and viruses, are silenced through the action of small (20-26 nt) homologous RNA molecules. Our understanding of small RNA biology has significantly improved in recent years, and it is now clear that there are several cellular silencing pathways in addition to those involved in defense. Endogenous silencing pathways have important roles in gene regulation at the transcriptional, RNA stability and translational levels. They share a common core of small RNA generator and effector proteins with multiple paralogs in plant genomes, some of which have acquired highly specialized functions. Here, we review recent developments in the plant RNA silencing field that have identified components of specific silencing pathways and have shed light on the mechanisms and biological roles of RNA silencing in plants.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Role: Editor
                Journal
                PLoS ONE
                plos
                plosone
                PLoS ONE
                Public Library of Science (San Francisco, USA )
                1932-6203
                2008
                26 August 2008
                : 3
                : 8
                : e3061
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Plant Biology and Genome Center, University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States of America
                [2 ]Department of Plant Sciences and Genome Center, University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States of America
                Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, Singapore
                Author notes

                Conceived and designed the experiments: DP BPD LC. Performed the experiments: DP. Analyzed the data: DP BPD LC. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: TW RM. Wrote the paper: DP BPD LC.

                Article
                08-PONE-RA-03883R1
                10.1371/journal.pone.0003061
                2516530
                18725969
                9002a80e-39ce-4d54-b437-8db8e7f7c8a2
                Pignatta et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
                History
                : 7 March 2008
                : 31 July 2008
                Page count
                Pages: 6
                Categories
                Research Article
                Genetics and Genomics/Epigenetics
                Genetics and Genomics/Gene Expression
                Plant Biology/Plant Genetics and Gene Expression

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                Uncategorized

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