Epigenetic profiling

Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic system of transcriptional regulation causing an allele-specific expression of some genes dependent on the parent-of-origin. Genomic imprinting occurs only in mammals and flowering plants and it is generally assumed that imprinted genes play an important role for the distribution of nutrients from the mother to the offspring. Genomic imprinting in flowering plants has long been inferred to play an important role in seed development. However, the mechanism of genomic imprinting in plants is only partially understood and likely involves alterations in DNA and hisone methylation and chromatin structure between the differentially expressed maternal and paternal alleles. Therefore, a central question of this project is to clarify when imprinting marks are established and how are they maintained during endosperm development. We will use state of the art molecular biology techniques to track DNA and histone methylation directly from gametes to different stages of endosperm development, enabling an exploration of the timing of genomic imprinting. Currently, only a small number of imprinted genes have been described in plants. Thus, we will also focus on the identification of new imprinted genes in Arabidopsis. Together, the proposed project will deepen the knowledge of the mechanism of genomic imprinting in plants and will also provide further important insights into the influence of imprinting on seed development. Currently, one of the main focuses of plant research in Vienna (e.g. at the Gregor Mendel Institute) is the epigenetic plasticity of plant genomes in context of gene regulation, chromosome biology and development. Furthermore, epigenetic mechanisms are of substantial interest for medical research as well and are intensively investigated at the Institute of Molecular Pathology in Vienna. Several epigenetic mechanisms are evolutionary conserved, therefore, we expect that the results of the proposed research will not only be of interest to plant scientists but will reveal mechanisms of parent-of-origin dependent gene regulation that are conserved between mammals and flowering plants. Last but not least, imprinted genes play an important role during endosperm development. Endosperm represents mankind`s most important renewable resource for food, feed and industrial raw material. Therefore, the proposed research is not merely of academic but potentially also of great economic interest. Thus, the knowledge gained from this innovative research project will be of particular use for the Austrian research done in the field of epigenetics and seed development.