A role of OsROS1 in aleurone development and nutrient improvement in rice

Abstract

DNA methylation is a conserved epigenetic mark in eukaryotes involved in many important biological processes, such as genome integrity, gene imprinting, and gene regulation (1). In genomes, DNA methylation marks can be added through the DNA methylation pathway and can be removed through the DNA demethylation pathway (1). The REPRESSOR OF SILENCING 1 (ROS1)/DEMETER (DME; DEMETER-like, DML) family of DNA demethylases were first reported in plants (2, 3) and now are known to be involved in DNA demethylation in all eukaryotes (1). The bifunctional glycosylase/lyase activities of the ROS1 family of enzymes could initiate DNA demethylation through removal of methylcytosine from the DNA backbone, leaving a single-nucleotide gap that is filled with an unmethylated cytosine through a base excision repair (BER) mechanism (1). In both plants and mammals, the active DNA demethylation pathway depends on the BER mechanism, although different enzymes initiate the pathway in the two systems (1). In recent years, several additional enzymes and regulators involved in the active DNA demethylation pathway have been identified and studied in plants (1). In contrast to the extensive mechanistic understanding of DNA demethylation pathways, however, the developmental function of DNA demethylation factors is largely unknown … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: lang.zhaobo{at}foxmail.com or gongzz{at}cau.edu.cn. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1