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Main conclusion22 nt siRNAs applied to leaves induce production of transitive sRNAs for targeted genes and can enhance local silencing. Systemic silencing was only observed for aGFPtransgene.AbstractRNA interference (RNAi) is a gene silencing mechanism important in regulating gene expression during plant development, response to the environment and defense. Better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of this pathway may lead to future strategies to improve crop traits of value. An abrasion method to deliver siRNAs into leaf cells of intact plants was used to investigate the activities of 21 and 22 nt siRNAs in silencing genes inNicotiana benthamianaandAmaranthus cruentus. We confirmed that both 21 and 22 nt siRNAs were able to silence a green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgene in treated leaves ofN. benthamiana, but systemic silencing ofGFPoccurred only when the guide strand contained 22 nt. Silencing in the treated leaves ofN. benthamianawas demonstrated for three endogenous genes:magnesium cheletase subunit I(CHL-I),magnesium cheletase subunit H(CHL-H), andGENOMES UNCOUPLED4 (GUN4). However, systemic silencing of these endogenous genes was not observed. Very high levels of transitive siRNAs were produced forGFPin response to treatment with 22 nt siRNAs but only low levels were produced in response to a 21 nt siRNA. The endogenous genes tested also produced transitive siRNAs in response to 22 nt siRNAs. 22 nt siRNAs produced greater local silencing phenotypes than 21 nt siRNAs for three of the genes. These special properties of 22 nt siRNAs were also observed for theCHL-Hgene inA. cruentus. These experiments suggest a functional role for transitive siRNAs in amplifying the RNAi response.

In both the pharmaceutical and agricultural fields, RNA-based products have capitalized upon the mechanism of RNA interference for targeted reduction of gene expression to improve phenotypes and traits. Reduction in gene expression by RNAi is the result of a small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecule binding to an ARGONAUTE (AGO) protein and directing the effector complex to a homologous region of a target gene’s mRNA. siRNAs properties that govern RNA-AGO association have been studied in detail. The siRNA 5’ nucleotide (nt) identity has been demonstrated in plants to be an important property responsible for directing association of endogenous small RNAs with different AGO effector proteins. However, it has not been investigated whether the 5’ nt identity is an efficacious determinant for topically-applied chemically synthesized siRNAs. In this study, we employed a sandpaper abrasion method to study the silencing efficacies of topically-applied 21 base-pair siRNA duplexes. The MAGNESIUM CHELATASE and GREEN FLUORESCENT PROTEIN genes were selected as endogenous and transgenic gene targets, respectively, to assess the molecular and phenotypic effects of gene silencing. Collections of siRNA variants with different 5’ nt identities and different pairing states between the 5’ antisense nt and its match in the sense strand of the siRNA duplex were tested for their silencing efficacy. Our results suggest a flexibility in the 5’ nt requirement for topically applied siRNA duplexes in planta and highlight the similarity of 5’ thermodynamic rules governing topical siRNA efficacy across plants and animals.

Patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) whose intraocular pressure is not adequately controlled by one medication have several treatment options in the US. This analysis evaluated direct costs of unilateral eye treatment with two trabecular micro-bypass stents (two iStents) compared to selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) or medications only.A population-based, annual state-transition, probabilistic, cost-of-care model was used to assess OAG-related costs over 5 years. Patients were modeled to initiate treatment in year zero with two iStents, SLT, or medications only. In years 1-5, patients could remain on initial treatment or move to another treatment option(s), or filtration surgery. Treatment strategy change probabilities were identified by a clinician panel. Direct costs were included for drugs, procedures, and complications.The projected average cumulative cost at 5 years was lower in the two-stent treatment arm ($4,420) compared to the SLT arm ($4,730) or medications-only arm ($6,217). Initial year-zero costs were higher with two iStents ($2,810) than with SLT ($842) or medications only ($996). Average marginal annual costs in years 1-5 were $322 for two iStents, $777 for SLT, and $1,044 for medications only. The cumulative cost differences between two iStents vs SLT or medications only decreased over time, with breakeven by 5 or 3 years post-initiation, respectively. By year 5, cumulative savings with two iStents over SLT or medications only was $309 or $1,797, respectively.This analysis relies on clinical expert panel opinion and would benefit from real-world evidence on use of multiple procedures and treatment switching after two-stent treatment, SLT, or polypharmaceutical initial approaches.Despite higher costs in year zero, annual costs thereafter were lowest in the two-stent treatment arm. Two-stent treatment may reduce OAG-related health resource use, leading to direct savings, especially over medications only or at longer time horizons.

Imprinting occurs in the endosperm of flowering plants. The endosperm, a product of central cell fertilization, is critical for embryo and seed development. Imprinting in the endosperm is mainly due to the inherited differences in gamete epigenetic composition. Studies have also shown that there are differences in genomic DNA methylation patterns between embryo and endosperm. Examining those differences, along with mutations in the DNA demethylase gene DEMETER, gives insight into the number of imprinted genes and how an antagonistic relationship between TE defense and gene regulation could evolutionarily affect imprinting establishment. Finally, studies demonstrate that DEMETER demethylase activity influences endosperm chromatin composition, and could possibly enhance DNA de novo methylation activity.

Imprinted genes are expressed primarily or exclusively from either the maternal or paternal allele, a phenomenon that occurs in flowering plants and mammals. Flowering plant imprinted gene expression has been described primarily in endosperm, a terminal nutritive tissue consumed by the embryo during seed development or after germination. Imprinted expression in Arabidopsis thaliana endosperm is orchestrated by differences in cytosine DNA methylation between the paternal and maternal genomes as well as by Polycomb group proteins. Currently, only 11 imprinted A. thaliana genes are known. Here, we use extensive sequencing of cDNA libraries to identify 9 paternally expressed and 34 maternally expressed imprinted genes in A. thaliana endosperm that are regulated by the DNA-demethylating glycosylase DEMETER, the DNA methyltransferase MET1, and/or the core Polycomb group protein FIE. These genes encode transcription factors, proteins involved in hormone signaling, components of the ubiquitin protein degradation pathway, regulators of histone and DNA methylation, and small RNA pathway proteins. We also identify maternally expressed genes that may be regulated by unknown mechanisms or deposited from maternal tissues. We did not detect any imprinted genes in the embryo. Our results show that imprinted gene expression is an extensive mechanistically complex phenomenon that likely affects multiple aspects of seed development.

Combined with a system for identifying each of the chromosomes in a genome, visualizing the location of individual genetic loci by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) would aid in assembling physical and genetic maps. Previously, large genomic clones have been successfully used as FISH probes onto somatic chromosomes but this approach is complicated in species with abundant repetitive elements. In this study, repeat-free portions of sequences that were anchored to particular chromosomes including genes, gene clusters, large cDNAs, and portions of BACs obtained from public databases were used to label the corresponding physical location using FISH. A collection of probes that includes at least one marker on each chromosome in the maize complement was assembled, allowing a small-target karyotyping system to be developed. This set provides the foundation onto which additional loci could be added to strengthen further the ability to perform chromosomal identification in maize and its relatives. The probes were demonstrated to produce signals in several wild relatives of maize, including Zea luxurians, Z. diploperennis, and Tripsacum dactyloides.

Gene imprinting, the differential expression of maternal and paternal alleles, independently evolved in mammals and in flowering plants. A unique feature of flowering plants is a double-fertilization event in which the sperm fertilize not only the egg, which forms the embryo, but also the central cell, which develops into the endosperm (an embryo-supporting tissue). The distinctive mechanisms of gene imprinting in the endosperm, which involve DNA demethylation and histone methylation, begin in the central cell and sperm prior to fertilization. Flowering plants might have coevolved double fertilization and imprinting to prevent parthenogenetic development of the endosperm.

Imprinting occurs in the endosperm of flowering plants. Endosperm, produced by fertilization of the central cell in the female gametophyte, is essential for embryo and seed development. Several imprinted genes play an important role in endosperm development. The mechanism of gene imprinting involves DNA methylation and histone modification. DNA methylation is actively removed at the imprinted alleles to be activated. Histone methylation mediated by the Polycomb group complex provides another layer of epigenetic regulation at the silenced alleles. Endosperm gene imprinting can be uncoupled from seed development when fertilization of the central cell is prevented. Imprinting may be a mechanism to ensure fertilization of the central cell thereby preventing parthenogenic development of the endosperm.

The chromosomes of the maize endosperm proceed through an endoreduplication phase in later stages of development. Endoreduplication is a process in which the cell cycle continues DNA synthesis but does not proceed through cytokinesis. When this occurs, the normally triploid endosperm cell can reach ploidy levels greater than 200× in some lines of maize. In this work, we examined the structure of the endoreduplicated chromosomes. Previous cytological work has indicated that, although the DNA content per cell increases, the number of nucleoli and knobs remains the same. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization and slot blot techniques, we show that the highly repetitive heterochromatic areas both on the A and B chromosomes, as well as several actively transcribed genes, are endoreduplicated. This result suggests that the entire genome follows that same trend. Further evidence shows that the various chromatin strands stay associated throughout the length of the chromosomes after they have been replicated, and that the DNA at the centromeric and knob regions is more tightly associated than the other regions of the chromosomes. Interploidy crosses between diploid and tetraploid derivatives of the same inbred exhibit changes in the chromatin organization of centromeres and heterochromatic knobs.