Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Archive
    • Preview Papers
  • About
    • Editorial Board and Staff
    • About the Journal
    • Terms & Privacy
  • More
    • Alerts
    • Contact Us
  • Submit a Manuscript
    • Instructions for Authors
    • Submit a Manuscript
  • Other Publications
    • Plant Physiology
    • The Plant Cell
    • Plant Direct
    • The Arabidopsis Book
    • Teaching Tools in Plant Biology
    • ASPB
    • Plantae

User menu

  • My alerts
  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
Plant Cell
  • Other Publications
    • Plant Physiology
    • The Plant Cell
    • Plant Direct
    • The Arabidopsis Book
    • Teaching Tools in Plant Biology
    • ASPB
    • Plantae
  • My alerts
  • Log in
Plant Cell

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Archive
    • Preview Papers
  • About
    • Editorial Board and Staff
    • About the Journal
    • Terms & Privacy
  • More
    • Alerts
    • Contact Us
  • Submit a Manuscript
    • Instructions for Authors
    • Submit a Manuscript
  • Follow PlantCell on Twitter
  • Visit PlantCell on Facebook
  • Visit Plantae
In BriefIN BRIEF
You have accessRestricted Access

Mother Knows Best: Maternal Influence on Early Embryogenesis

Nancy R. Hofmann
Nancy R. Hofmann
Science Editor
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site

Published February 2010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.110.220210

  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading
  • © 2010 American Society of Plant Biologists

During embryogenesis, there is a major switch from dependence upon products deposited by parental tissues, particularly those from maternal tissues, to reliance on products of the zygotic genome. In animals, this so-called maternal-to-zygotic transition often occurs after a period of transcriptional quiescence on the part of the embryo, but much less is known about the process in plants (reviewed in Baroux et al., 2008). New work from Pillot et al. (pages 307–320), in a spectacular combination of molecular genetics and fluorescence microscopy, addresses the extent to which maternal products influence early embryonic development in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The maternal-to-zygotic transition has been studied in other systems by preventing de novo transcription after fertilization, usually with chemical treatments, and determining the point at which previously deposited mRNAs and proteins could no longer support development. This approach is technically difficult in angiosperms because the embryos are protected by seed coats, but Pillot et al. successfully used RNA interference to downregulate RNA polymerase II in Arabidopsis endosperm and embryos simultaneously. They found that whereas endosperm development required de novo transcription, early embryo development could be supported by stored products until the preglobular stage (consisting of 16 to 32 cells). In agreement with this, an antibody able to recognize active RNA polymerase II gave an immunofluorescence signal in wild-type endosperm nuclei but not in zygote nuclei. Thus, there is transcriptional activity in the endosperm while the zygote is relatively quiescent.

The striking difference in transcriptional activity of these two tissues points to epigenetic regulation. The authors checked for differences in chromatin structure by determining the global patterns of dimethylation on lysine 9 of histone H3 (H3K9me2), which is generally repressive of transcription (reviewed in Berger, 2007). Their analysis showed that endosperm and embryo nuclei have different H3K9me2 patterns, with lower levels of H3K9me2 in the endosperm, a result that is consistent with the endosperm maintaining a relatively high level of transcription. This epigenetic dimorphism was found to include both euchromatic and heterochromatic repressive marks. Furthermore, the dimorphism was present in the mature female gametophyte, and there was no signal for active RNA polymerase II in the egg at the same time as there was strong signal in the central cell (see figure). Thus, it appears that the epigenetic and transcriptional patterns of the endosperm and the embryo are established in their progenitors (the central cell and egg, respectively) even before fertilization.

Figure1
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint

Differential RNA polymerase II activity in the egg cell (EC) and central cell (CC) of a mature ovule (left panel). The right panels show enlarged views of the boxed region. Active RNA polymerase II, recognized by the H5 antibody (green), is mostly confined to the central cell, and 4′,6diamidino2phenylindole (DAPI) labels the DNA in chromatin of both cells. Bar = 10μm.

The authors identified mutants in which these patterns were disrupted in one cell type or the other and provide evidence suggesting that the quiescent period is needed for normal embryogenesis. In sum, this work confirms that in plants, as in animals, the embryo is quiescent early in development, a state that may be important for facilitating epigenetic reprogramming. The endosperm, on the other hand, remains active and, importantly, Pillot et al. reveal that the responsible epigenetic changes likely occur in the female gametophyte before fertilization.

Footnotes

  • www.plantcell.org/cgi/doi/10.1105/tpc.110.220210

References

  1. ↵
    1. Baroux C.,
    2. Autran D.,
    3. Gillmor C.S.,
    4. Grimanelli D.,
    5. Grossniklaus U.
    (2008). The maternal-to-zygotic transition in animals and plants. Cold Spring Harb. Symp. Quant. Biol. 73: 89–100.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  2. ↵
    1. Berger S.L.
    (2007). The complex language of chromatin regulation during transcription. Nature 447: 407–412.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  3. ↵
    1. Pillot M.,
    2. Baroux C.,
    3. Vasquez M.A.,
    4. Autran D.,
    5. Leblanc O.,
    6. Vielle-Calzada J.P.,
    7. Grossniklaus U.,
    8. Grimanelli D.
    (2010). Embryo and endosperm inherit distinct chromatin and transcriptional states from the female gametes in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 22: 307–320.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
PreviousNext
Back to top

Table of Contents

Print
Download PDF
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Plant Cell.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Mother Knows Best: Maternal Influence on Early Embryogenesis
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Plant Cell
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Plant Cell web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Mother Knows Best: Maternal Influence on Early Embryogenesis
Nancy R. Hofmann
The Plant Cell Feb 2010, 22 (2) 293; DOI: 10.1105/tpc.110.220210

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Request Permissions
Share
Mother Knows Best: Maternal Influence on Early Embryogenesis
Nancy R. Hofmann
The Plant Cell Feb 2010, 22 (2) 293; DOI: 10.1105/tpc.110.220210
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

In this issue

The Plant Cell Online: 22 (2)
The Plant Cell
Vol. 22, Issue 2
Feb 2010
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
  • Advertising (PDF)
  • Front Matter (PDF)
View this article with LENS

More in this TOC Section

  • Hold Me, Fold Me...or Not!
  • Slice and Dice: DCL2 Mediates the Production of 22-Nucleotide siRNAs that Influence Trait Variation in Soybean
  • How to Eat One’s Feelings: Autophagy and Phosphatidylinositol 3-Phosphate
Show more IN BRIEF

Similar Articles

Our Content

  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Plant Cell Preview
  • Archive
  • Teaching Tools in Plant Biology
  • Plant Physiology
  • Plant Direct
  • Plantae
  • ASPB

For Authors

  • Instructions
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Editorial Board and Staff
  • Policies
  • Recognizing our Authors

For Reviewers

  • Instructions
  • Peer Review Reports
  • Journal Miles
  • Transfer of reviews to Plant Direct
  • Policies

Other Services

  • Permissions
  • Librarian resources
  • Advertise in our journals
  • Alerts
  • RSS Feeds
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2021 by The American Society of Plant Biologists

Powered by HighWire