Expression of a mammalian RNA demethylase increases flower number and floral stem branching in Arabidopsis thaliana
[1];
[3]
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology University of California Berkeley California USA, Feedstocks Division Joint BioEnergy Institute Emeryville California USA, Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley California USA
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley California USA, Department of Bioengineering University of California Berkeley California USA, Joint BioEnergy Institute Emeryville California USA, Biological Systems and Engineering Division Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley California USA
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology University of California Berkeley California USA, Feedstocks Division Joint BioEnergy Institute Emeryville California USA, Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley California USA, Joint Genome Institute Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley California USA, Innovative Genomics Institute University of California Berkeley California USA
Abstract RNA methylation plays a central regulatory role in plant biology and is a relatively new target for plant improvement efforts. In nearly all cases, perturbation of the RNA methylation machinery results in deleterious phenotypes. However, a recent landmark paper reported that transcriptome‐wide use of the human RNA demethylase FTO substantially increased the yield of rice and potatoes. Here, we have performed the first independent replication of those results and demonstrated broader transferability of the trait, finding increased flower and fruit count in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana . We also performed RNA‐seq of our FTO‐transgenic plants, which we analyzed in conjunction with previously published datasets to detect several previously unrecognized patterns in the functional and structural classification of the upregulated and downregulated genes. From these, we present mechanistic hypotheses to explain these surprising results with the goal of spurring more widespread interest in this promising new approach to plant engineering.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231
- OSTI ID:
- 2438137
- Journal Information:
- Plant Direct, Journal Name: Plant Direct Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 8; ISSN 2475-4455
- Publisher:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Language:
- English
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