MTHFD1 controls DNA methylation in Arabidopsis

作者：Groth, Martin^*; Moissiard, Guillaume; Wirtz, Markus; Wang, Haifeng; Garcia-Salinas, Carolina; Ramos-Parra, Perla A.; Bischof, Sylvain; Feng, Suhua; Cokus, Shawn J.; John, Amala; Smith, Danielle C.; Zhai, Jixian; Hale, Christopher J.; Long, Jeff A.; Hell, Ruediger; Diaz de la Garza, Rocio I.; Jacobsen, Steven E.^*

来源：Nature Communications, 2016, 7(1): 11640.

DOI：10.1038/ncomms11640

• ONE-CARBON METABOLISM
• L-HOMOCYSTEINE HYDROLASE
• SERINE HYDROXYMETHYLTRANSFERASE
• FOLATE POLYGLUTAMYLATION
• GLYCINE DECARBOXYLASE
• GENE
• DEHYDROGENASE
• DOMAIN
• CYCLOHYDROLASE
• COMPLEX

DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism that has important functions in transcriptional silencing and is associated with repressive histone methylation (H3K9me). To further investigate silencing mechanisms, we screened a mutagenized Arabidopsis thaliana population for expression of SDCpro-GFP, redundantly controlled by DNA methyltransferases DRM2 and CMT3. Here, we identify the hypomorphic mutant mthfd1-1, carrying a mutation (R175Q) in the cytoplasmic bifunctional methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase/methenyltetrahy-drofolate cyclohydrolase (MTHFD1). Decreased levels of oxidized tetrahydrofolates in mthfd1-1 and lethality of loss-of-function demonstrate the essential enzymatic role of MTHFD1 in Arabidopsis. Accumulation of homocysteine and S-adenosylhomocysteine, genome-wide DNA hypomethylation, loss of H3K9me and transposon derepression indicate that S-adenosylmethionine-dependent transmethylation is inhibited in mthfd1-1. Comparative analysis of DNA methylation revealed that the CMT3 and CMT2 pathways involving positive feedback with H3K9me are mostly affected. Our work highlights the sensitivity of epigenetic networks to one-carbon metabolism due to their common S-adenosylmethionine-dependent transmethylation and has implications for human MTHFD1-associated diseases.

• 出版日期2016-6
• 单位福建农林大学