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Polycomb Group Gene EbEZ from Apomictic Eulaliopsis binata Ectopic Expressed in Rice and Regulate Seed Development by Interacting with the OsFIE1 Protein

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Abstract

Polycomb group (PcG) protein MEDEA (MEA), one of the Enhancer of Zeste [E(z)], represses endosperm development in Arabidopsis until fertilization occurs. The Eulaliopsis binata is an apomictic species that forms endosperm asexually. Up to now, little is known about their homologs in apomictic plants. Here, E(z)-like genes EbEZ1 and EbEZ2 were cloned from Eulaliopsis. The EbEZs were ubiquitously expressed in vegetative and reproductive organs while their high mRNAs were accumulated in seed. In addition, up-regulated expression of EbEZ1 in mature seed was in accompanied with hypomethylation of the promoter. Transgenic EbEZ1 rice lines produced decreased seed setting and abnormal endosperm and embryo. Moreover, the expression level of genes which were co-expressed with OsCLF (a homolog of EbEZ1) were up-regulated, indicating that EbEZ1 may integrate into the regulatory network of rice endogenous PcG complex which was supported by EbEZ1 interaction in vitro with the rice FERTILIZATION INDEPENDENT ENDOSPERM 1 (FIE1) PcG protein.

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Abbreviations

CLF:

Curly leaf

MEA:

Medea

EMF:

Embryonic flower

VRN:

Vernalization

SWN:

Swinger

MSI:

MULTICOPYSUPRESSOR

FLC:

Flowering locus c

FIS:

Fertilization independent seed

DAP:

Day after pollination

DBP:

Day before pollination

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

ORF:

Open reading frame

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Jinzhi Zhang for the helpful discussion. This research was supported by grants from the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No.2012MBDX012) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30971551). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Conflict of Interest

We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Horticulture and Forestry Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070, Wuhan, China

    Yuting Ye, Kai Ma & Chungen Hu

  2. College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070, Wuhan, China

    Qiuming She, Yaqin Liu, Yidan Ouyang & Jialing Yao

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  1. Yuting Ye
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  2. Qiuming She
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jialing Yao.

Additional information

Yuting Ye and Qiuming She contributed equally to this work.

Electronic Supplementary Material

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Fig. S1

The sequences alignment and domain analysis of AtCLF, AtSWN, AtMEA, EbEZ1, and EbEZ2 proteins. (DOC 299 kb)

Fig. S2

Sequence analysis of EbEZ1 promoter on Methyl Primer Express v1.0 Microsoft. (DOC 43 kb)

Table S1

List of primer sequences used in this study. (DOC 74 kb)

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Ye, Y., She, Q., Ma, K. et al. Polycomb Group Gene EbEZ from Apomictic Eulaliopsis binata Ectopic Expressed in Rice and Regulate Seed Development by Interacting with the OsFIE1 Protein. Plant Mol Biol Rep 33, 1314–1326 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11105-014-0831-0

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