Nucleosomes compact and regulate access to DNA in the nucleus, and are composed of approximately 147 bases of DNA wrapped around a histone octamer1, 2. Here we report a genome-wide nucleosome positioning analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana utilizing massively parallel sequencing of mononucleosomes. By combining this data with profiles of DNA methylation at single base resolution, we identified ten base periodicities in the DNA methylation status of nucleosome-bound DNA and found that nucleosomal DNA was more highly methylated than flanking DNA. These results suggest that nucleosome positioning strongly influences DNA methylation patterning throughout the genome and that DNA methyltransferases preferentially target nucleosome-bound DNA. We also observed similar trends in human nucleosomal DNA suggesting that the relationships between nucleosomes and DNA methyltransferases are conserved. Finally, as has been observed in animals, nucleosomes were highly enriched on exons, and preferentially positioned at intron-exon and exon-intron boundaries. RNA Pol II was also enriched on exons relative to introns, consistent with the hypothesis that nucleosome positioning regulates Pol II processivity. DNA methylation is enriched on exons, consistent with the targeting of DNA methylation to nucleosomes, and suggesting a role for DNA methylation in exon definition.

Posttranslational modifications of histones play important roles in modulating chromatin structure and regulating gene expression. We have previously shown that more than two thirds of Arabidopsis genes contain histone H3 methylation at lysine 4 (H3K4me) and that trimethylation of H3K4 (H3K4me3) is preferentially located at actively transcribed genes. In addition, several Arabidopsis mutants with locus-specific loss of H3K4me have been found to display various developmental abnormalities. These findings suggest that H3K4me3 may play important roles in maintaining the normal expression of a large number of genes. However, the major enzyme(s) responsible for H3K4me3 has yet to be identified in plants, making it difficult to address questions regarding the mechanisms and functions of H3K4me3. Here we described the characterization of SET DOMAIN GROUP 2 (SDG2), a large Arabidopsis protein containing a histone lysine methyltransferase domain. We found that SDG2 homologs are highly conserved in plants and that the Arabidopsis SDG2 gene is broadly expressed during development. In addition, the loss of SDG2 leads to severe and pleiotropic phenotypes, as well as the misregulation of a large number of genes. Consistent with our finding that SDG2 is a robust and specific H3K4 methyltransferase in vitro, the loss of SDG2 leads to a drastic decrease in H3K4me3 in vivo. Taken together, these results suggest that SDG2 is the major enzyme responsible for H3K4me3 in Arabidopsis and that SDG2-dependent H3K4m3 is critical for regulating gene expression and plant development.

Genomic integrity requires faithful chromosome duplication. Origins of replication, the genomic sites where DNA replication initiate, are scattered throughout the genome Their mapping at a genomic scale in multicellular organisms has been challenging. Here we have profiled origins in Arabidopsis by high-throughput sequencing of newly-synthesized DNA and identified ~1500 putative origins genome-wide. This was supported by ChIP-chip experiments to identify ORC1 and CDC6 binding sites. Origin activity was validated independently by measuring the abundance of nascent DNA strands. The midpoints of most Arabidopsis origin regions are preferentially located within the 5’ half of genes, slightly enriched in G+C, histone H2A.Z, H3K4me2/3 and H4K5ac, and depleted of H3K4me1 and H3K9me2. Our data establish the basis for understanding the epigenetic specification of DNA replication origins in Arabidopsis and have implications for other eukaryotes.

A rice tiller is a specialized grain-bearing branch that contributes greatly to grain yield. The MONOCULM 1 (MOC1) gene is the first identified key regulator controlling rice tiller number; however, the underlying mechanism remains to be elucidated. Here we report a novel rice gene, Tillering and Dwarf 1 (TAD1), which encodes a co-activator of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC/C), a multi-subunit E3 ligase. Although the elucidation of co-activators and individual subunits of plant APC/C involved in regulating plant development have emerged recently, the understanding of whether and how this large cell-cycle machinery controls plant development is still very limited. Our study demonstrates that TAD1 interacts with MOC1, forms a complex with OsAPC10 and functions as a co-activator of APC/C to target MOC1 for degradation in a cell-cycle-dependent manner. Our findings uncovered a new mechanism underlying shoot branching and shed light on the understanding of how the cell-cycle machinery regulates plant architecture.