H3K27 methylation regulates the fate of two cell lineages in male gametophytes

During angiosperm male gametogenesis, microspores divide to produce a vegetative cell (VC) and a male germline (MG), each with distinct cell fates. The mechanism underlying determination of the MG cell/VC fate remains an important area of research, with many unanswered questions. Here, we report tha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Plant cell 2022-07, Vol.34 (8), p.2989-3005
Main Authors: Huang, Xiaorong, Sun, Meng-Xiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arabidopsis - metabolism
Cell Lineage
Histones - genetics
Histones - metabolism
Methylation
Pollen - metabolism
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Summary:During angiosperm male gametogenesis, microspores divide to produce a vegetative cell (VC) and a male germline (MG), each with distinct cell fates. The mechanism underlying determination of the MG cell/VC fate remains an important area of research, with many unanswered questions. Here, we report that H3K27me3 is essential for VC fate commitment in male Arabidopsis thaliana gametophytes; H3K27me3 erasure contributes to MG cell fate initiation. VC-targeted H3K27me3 erasure disturbed VC development and shifted the VC fate toward a gamete destination, which suggests that MG cells require H3K27me3 erasure to trigger gamete cell fate. Multi-omics and cytological analyses confirmed the occurrence of extensive cell identity transition due to H3K27me3 erasure. Therefore, we experimentally confirmed that MG cell/VC fate is epigenetically regulated. H3K27 methylation plays a critical role in guiding MG cell/VC fate determination for pollen fertility in Arabidopsis. Our work also provides evidence for two previous hypotheses: the germline cell fate is specified by the differential distribution of unknown determinants and VC maintains the default microspore program (i.e. the H3K27me3 setting) while MG requires reprogramming.
ISSN:1040-4651
1532-298X
DOI:10.1093/plcell/koac136