Abstract
SET domain-containing genes catalyse histone lysine methylation, which alters chromatin structure and regulates the transcription of genes that are involved in various developmental and physiological processes. The present study identified 53 SET domain-containing genes in C4 panicoid model, foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and the genes were physically mapped onto nine chromosomes. Phylogenetic and structural analyses classified SiSET proteins into five classes (I–V). RNA-seq derived expression profiling showed that SiSET genes were differentially expressed in four tissues namely, leaf, root, stem and spica. Expression analyses using qRT-PCR was performed for 21 SiSET genes under different abiotic stress and hormonal treatments, which showed differential expression of these genes during late phase of stress and hormonal treatments. Significant upregulation of SiSET gene was observed during cold stress, which has been confirmed by over-expressing a candidate gene, SiSET14 in yeast. Interestingly, hypermethylation was observed in gene body of highly differentially expressed genes, whereas methylation event was completely absent in their transcription start sites. This suggested the occurrence of demethylation events during various abiotic stresses, which enhance the gene expression. Altogether, the present study would serve as a base for further functional characterization of SiSET genes towards understanding their molecular roles in conferring stress tolerance.
Highlights
SET domain-containing genes catalyse histone lysine methylation, which alters chromatin structure and regulates the transcription of genes that are involved in various developmental and physiological processes
Lysine methylation of histones plays a crucial role in various biological processes ranging from regulation of transcription to formation of heterochromatin[4]
Several reports have been published stating that SET domain proteins are encoded by a large multigene family in plants and investigation of their functional roles will delineate the epigenetic control of gene regulation in plants
Summary
SET domain-containing genes catalyse histone lysine methylation, which alters chromatin structure and regulates the transcription of genes that are involved in various developmental and physiological processes. Hypermethylation was observed in gene body of highly differentially expressed genes, whereas methylation event was completely absent in their transcription start sites This suggested the occurrence of demethylation events during various abiotic stresses, which enhance the gene expression. Histone methylation mediated by SET domain-containing protein family plays a pivotal role in epigenetic regulation of gene expression[1]. The SET domain is approximately 130 amino acids in length, and contains two non-contiguous regions made by N- and C-terminal of the primary sequence, named SET-N and SET-C, respectively, and an insert region (SET-I)[7] These proteins catalyze the transfer of methyl groups from the co-factor S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) to ε-amino group of particular lysine residues of protein substrates including the N-terminal tails of histone (H3 or H4) and the large subunit of the Rubisco holoenzyme complex[10].
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