Differential expression of a DNA methyltransferase homologous to CMT3/dmt102 in sexual and apomictic genotypes of Eragrostis curvula

SELVA JP; SIENA L; ROMERO J; GARBUS I; RODRIGO JM; PESSINO S; VIVIANA ECHENIQUE

Foz de Iguazú

Congreso; XI International Plant Molecular Biology Congress; 2015

IPMB

Apomixis in plants refers to diverse developmental behaviors resulting in asexual reproduction through seeds. Apomictic individuals bypass both meiotic reduction and egg cell fertilization to produce offspring that are genetic replicas of the maternal plant. Different models have been proposed to explain the occurrence of apomixis at the molecular level involving genetic and epigenetic mechanisms. In particular, some evidences suggest that DNA methylation in reproductive tissues plays a role on the establishment of apomixis, as indicated by the loss-of-function of the maize gene dmt102, a homolog of the Arabidopsis CHROMOMETHYLASE3 (CMT3) gene that partially mimics apomictic development. Weeping lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula (Schrader) Nees) is a diplosporous apomictic perennial grass native to Southern Africa. The cDNA sequence of the E.