Volume 4, Issue 3 (Suppl)
Adv Crop Sci Tech
ISSN: 2329-8863 ACST, an open access journal
Page 78
Notes:
Plant Genomics 2016
July 14-15, 2016
conferenceseries
.com
July 14-15, 2016 Brisbane, Australia
4
th
International Conference on
Plant Genomics
New insights into genome-wide change of DNAmethylation and its association with gene expression in
cadmium-exposed rice (
Oryza sativa
)
Zhi Min Yang
1
, Sheng Jun Feng
1
, Xue Song Liu
1
, Shang Kun Tan
1
, Shan Shan Chu
1
, Hua Tao
1
, Tao Liu
1
and
Youko Oono
2
1
Nanjing Agricultural University, China
2
National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Japan
P
lant exposure to cadmium (Cd) affects transcriptional responses. Whether Cd modified DNA methylation marks are associated
with transcription and functional consequences in plants remain unknown. We present the genome-wide single base resolution
maps of methylated cytosines in Cd exposed rice, along with global transcriptional change in mRNA. Widespread differences
were identified in the composition and patterning of CG and non-CG methylation marks between Cd exposed and control rice
genomes. There are 2393 non-redundant differentially methylated regions (DMRs). RNA sequencing revealed that most of DNA
methyltransferases, histone methyltransferases and DNA demethylases differentially changed in transcription under Cd exposure. By
profiling global DNA methylation and gene transcription, we found more genes hypermethylated than those hypomethylated in CG,
CHH and CHG (where H is A, C or T) contexts in the regions of upstream, gene body and downstream under Cd stress. Seventy-nine
genes (p<0.05, two-fold change) with a strong preference of differential expression in Cd exposed rice plants was identified. Many of
themwere involved in stress response, metal transport and transcription factors. A subset of loss of functionmutants defective in DNA
methylation/demethylation and histone modification activities were used to identify transcript abundance of selected genes. In most
cases, genes in the mutants were repressed by Cd treatment. Provision of azacitidine (a global DNA methylation inhibitor) attenuated
root growth inhibition but promoted biomass and Cd accumulation under Cd exposure. Finally, we identified 108 transposons and
254 retrotransposons that were modified by methylation, where transcriptional expressions of 30 neighboring genes were changed
under Cd exposure.
Biography
Zhi Min Yang is a Professor of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology in Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU). He has earned his PhD degree at NAU in 1999
and received his Postdoctoral training at the University of Kagawa, Japan and Justus-Liebig University, Germany. He is working on physiological and molecular
mechanisms for plant abiotic stress responses (salt, drought or heavy metals). His major interest is in epigenetic regulation of stress tolerance, toxic metal uptake
and accumulation in plants through small/long non-coding RNAs (e.g. microRNAs) and DNA methylation. He has published 80 peer-reviewed papers and serves
as Associate/Academic Editor of
Gene, Plant Gene and PloS One
.
zmyang@njau.edu.cnZhi Min Yang et al., Adv Crop Sci Tech 2016, 4:3 (Suppl)
http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2329-8863.C1.002