Nagaki Kiyotaka, Tanaka Keisuke, Yamaji Naoki, Kobayashi Hisato, Murata Minoru
Applied Genomics Unit, Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Okayama University Kurashiki, Japan.
NODAI Genome Research Center, Tokyo University of Agriculture Setagaya, Japan.
Front Plant Sci. 2015 Oct 31;6:912. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2015.00912. eCollection 2015.
The kinetochore is a protein complex including kinetochore-specific proteins that plays a role in chromatid segregation during mitosis and meiosis. The complex associates with centromeric DNA sequences that are usually species-specific. In plant species, tandem repeats including satellite DNA sequences and retrotransposons have been reported as centromeric DNA sequences. In this study on sunflowers, a cDNA-encoding centromere-specific histone H3 (CENH3) was isolated from a cDNA pool from a seedling, and an antibody was raised against a peptide synthesized from the deduced cDNA. The antibody specifically recognized the sunflower CENH3 (HaCENH3) and showed centromeric signals by immunostaining and immunohistochemical staining analysis. The antibody was also applied in chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-Seq to isolate centromeric DNA sequences and two different types of repetitive DNA sequences were identified. One was a long interspersed nuclear element (LINE)-like sequence, which showed centromere-specific signals on almost all chromosomes in sunflowers. This is the first report of a centromeric LINE sequence, suggesting possible centromere targeting ability. Another type of identified repetitive DNA was a tandem repeat sequence with a 187-bp unit that was found only on a pair of chromosomes. The HaCENH3 content of the tandem repeats was estimated to be much higher than that of the LINE, which implies centromere evolution from LINE-based centromeres to more stable tandem-repeat-based centromeres. In addition, the epigenetic status of the sunflower centromeres was investigated by immunohistochemical staining and ChIP, and it was found that centromeres were heterochromatic.
动粒是一种包含动粒特异性蛋白质的蛋白质复合体,在有丝分裂和减数分裂过程中,它在染色单体分离中发挥作用。该复合体与通常具有物种特异性的着丝粒DNA序列相关联。在植物物种中,包括卫星DNA序列和逆转录转座子的串联重复序列已被报道为着丝粒DNA序列。在这项关于向日葵的研究中,从幼苗的cDNA文库中分离出一个编码着丝粒特异性组蛋白H3(CENH3)的cDNA,并针对从推导的cDNA合成的肽制备了抗体。该抗体特异性识别向日葵CENH3(HaCENH3),并通过免疫染色和免疫组织化学染色分析显示出着丝粒信号。该抗体还应用于染色质免疫沉淀(ChIP)-Seq以分离着丝粒DNA序列,并鉴定出两种不同类型的重复DNA序列。一种是长散在核元件(LINE)样序列,在向日葵的几乎所有染色体上都显示出着丝粒特异性信号。这是关于着丝粒LINE序列的首次报道,表明其可能具有着丝粒靶向能力。另一种鉴定出的重复DNA是具有187个碱基对单元的串联重复序列,仅在一对染色体上发现。估计串联重复序列的HaCENH3含量远高于LINE,这意味着着丝粒从基于LINE的着丝粒向更稳定的基于串联重复的着丝粒进化。此外,通过免疫组织化学染色和ChIP研究了向日葵着丝粒的表观遗传状态,发现着丝粒是异染色质的。