Transcription is a major driving force for plastid genome instability in Arabidopsis.

Autor: Juliana Andrea Pérez Di Giorgio, Étienne Lepage, Samuel Tremblay-Belzile, Sébastien Truche, Audrey Loubert-Hudon, Normand Brisson
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2019
Předmět:
Zdroj: PLoS ONE, Vol 14, Iss 4, p e0214552 (2019)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1932-6203
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0214552
Popis: Though it is an essential process, transcription can be a source of genomic instability. For instance, it may generate RNA:DNA hybrids as the nascent transcript hybridizes with the complementary DNA template. These hybrids, called R-loops, act as a major cause of replication fork stalling and DNA breaks. In this study, we show that lowering transcription and R-loop levels in plastids of Arabidopsis thaliana reduces DNA rearrangements and mitigates plastid genome instability phenotypes. This effect can be observed on a genome-wide scale, as the loss of the plastid sigma transcription factor SIG6 prevents DNA rearrangements by favoring conservative repair in the presence of ciprofloxacin-induced DNA damage or in the absence of plastid genome maintenance actors such as WHY1/WHY3, RECA1 and POLIB. Additionally, resolving R-loops by the expression of a plastid-targeted exogenous RNAse H1 produces similar results. We also show that highly-transcribed genes are more susceptible to DNA rearrangements, as increased transcription of the psbD operon by SIG5 correlates with more locus-specific rearrangements. The effect of transcription is not specific to Sigma factors, as decreased global transcription levels by mutation of heat-stress-induced factor HSP21, mutation of nuclear-encoded polymerase RPOTp, or treatment with transcription-inhibitor rifampicin all prevent the formation of plastid genome rearrangements, especially under induced DNA damage conditions.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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