TY - JOUR A1 - Gohlke, Jochen A1 - Deeken, Rosalia T1 - Plant responses to Agrobacterium tumefaciens and crown gall development JF - Frontiers in Plant Science N2 - Agrobacterium tumefaciens causes crown gall disease on various plant species by introducing its T-DNA into the genome. Therefore, Agrobacterium has been extensively studied both as a pathogen and an important biotechnological tool. The infection process involves the transfer of T-DNA and virulence proteins into the plant cell. At that time the gene expression patterns of host plants differ depending on the Agrobacterium strain, plant species and cell-type used. Later on, integration of the T-DNA into the plant host genome, expression of the encoded oncogenes, and increase in phytohormone levels induce a fundamental reprogramming of the transformed cells. This results in their proliferation and finally formation of plant tumors. The process of reprogramming is accompanied by altered gene expression, morphology and metabolism. In addition to changes in the transcriptome and metabolome, further genome-wide ("omic") approaches have recently deepened our understanding of the genetic and epigenetic basis of crown gall tumor formation. This review summarizes the current knowledge about plant responses in the course of tumor development. Special emphasis is placed on the connection between epigenetic, transcriptomic, metabolomic, and morphological changes in the developing tumor. These changes not only result in abnormally proliferating host cells with a heterotrophic and transport-dependent metabolism, but also cause differentiation and serve as mechanisms to balance pathogen defense and adapt to abiotic stress conditions, thereby allowing the coexistence of the crown gall and host plant. KW - phytohormones KW - plant defenses KW - morphological adaptions KW - metabolomic changes KW - epigenetics Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-119768 SN - 1664-462X VL - 5 IS - 155 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Deeken, Rosalia A1 - Gohlke, Jochen A1 - Scholz, Claus-Juergen A1 - Kneitz, Susanne A1 - Weber, Dana A1 - Fuchs, Joerg A1 - Hedrich, Rainer T1 - DNA Methylation Mediated Control of Gene Expression Is Critical for Development of Crown Gall Tumors JF - PLoS Genetics N2 - Crown gall tumors develop after integration of the T-DNA of virulent Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains into the plant genome. Expression of the T-DNA–encoded oncogenes triggers proliferation and differentiation of transformed plant cells. Crown gall development is known to be accompanied by global changes in transcription, metabolite levels, and physiological processes. High levels of abscisic acid (ABA) in crown galls regulate expression of drought stress responsive genes and mediate drought stress acclimation, which is essential for wild-type-like tumor growth. An impact of epigenetic processes such as DNA methylation on crown gall development has been suggested; however, it has not yet been investigated comprehensively. In this study, the methylation pattern of Arabidopsis thaliana crown galls was analyzed on a genome-wide scale as well as at the single gene level. Bisulfite sequencing analysis revealed that the oncogenes Ipt, IaaH, and IaaM were unmethylated in crown galls. Nevertheless, the oncogenes were susceptible to siRNA–mediated methylation, which inhibited their expression and subsequently crown gall growth. Genome arrays, hybridized with methylated DNA obtained by immunoprecipitation, revealed a globally hypermethylated crown gall genome, while promoters were rather hypomethylated. Mutants with reduced non-CG methylation developed larger tumors than the wild-type controls, indicating that hypermethylation inhibits plant tumor growth. The differential methylation pattern of crown galls and the stem tissue from which they originate correlated with transcriptional changes. Genes known to be transcriptionally inhibited by ABA and methylated in crown galls became promoter methylated upon treatment of A. thaliana with ABA. This suggests that the high ABA levels in crown galls may mediate DNA methylation and regulate expression of genes involved in drought stress protection. In summary, our studies provide evidence that epigenetic processes regulate gene expression, physiological processes, and the development of crown gall tumors. KW - DNA methylation KW - DNA transcription KW - gene expression KW - oncogenes KW - plant genomics KW - sequence motif analysis KW - arabidopsis thaliana KW - agrobacterium tumefaciens Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-96318 ER - TY - THES A1 - Gohlke, Jochen T1 - Die Rolle von DNA-Methylierungen in der Entwicklung und Physiologie vonAgrobacterium-induzierten Arabidopsis-Tumoren T1 - The role of DNA methylation in development and physiology of Agrobacterium-induced Arabidopsis tumors N2 - Agrobacterium tumefaciens ist ein pathogenes Bodenbakterium, welches nach Integration seiner T-DNA in das pflanzliche Genom die Bildung von tumorartigen Wucherungen, den sogenannten Wurzelhalsgallen, an einer Reihe unterschiedlicher Wirtspflanzen verursacht. Die Expression der T-DNA-codierten Onkogene resultiert in der Proliferation und Differenzierung der sogenannten Wurzelhalsgallen, einem Prozess, welcher mit weitreichenden transkriptionellen und physiologischen Veränderungen verbunden ist. Für DNA-Methylierungen ist bekannt, dass diese zu Genexpressionsveränderungen beitragen, welche neoplastisches Wachstum in Säugetieren begünstigen. Über die Funktion epigenetischer Prozesse für die Physiologie und Entwicklung pflanzlicher Tumore ist bisher hingegen wenig bekannt. Daher wurde in dieser Arbeit das Methylierungsmuster von Wurzelhalsgallen, welche an Arabidopsis thaliana induziert wurden, sowohl genomweit als auch auf Basis einzelner Gene bestimmt. Dabei zeigte sich, dass die Onkogene ipt, iaaH und iaaM welche mit der T-DNA ins Genom integriert werden und die Proliferation auslösen, im Tumorgewebe unmethyliert vorliegen. Dennoch sind die Onkogene empfänglich gegenüber epigenetischen Modifikationen, da die siRNA-vermittelte Methylierung sowohl ihre Transkription als auch das Tumorwachstum unterbindet. Eine genomweite Studie der DNA-Methylierungsmuster mittels Tiling-Array-Analysen von immunopräzipitierter methylierter DNA zeigte ein global hypermethyliertes Tumor-Genom im Vergleich zum tumorfreien Sprossgewebe. Diese Beobachtungen stehen im Gegensatz zu den Methylierungsmustern der meisten Säuger-Tumore, welche typischerweise mit globaler Hypomethylierung und lokaler Hypermethylierung von Promotor-Sequenzen assoziiert sind. Im Unterschied dazu waren die Promoter-Sequenzen im Pflanzentumor eher hypomethyliert. Die Methylierungsunterschiede zwischen Wurzelhalsgallen und Sprossgewebe korrelierten mit transkriptionellen Veränderungen. Speziell Gene, welche in Entwicklungsprozessen und Zellteilung involviert sind, waren von Methylierungsänderungen betroffen. Dies impliziert, dass insbesondere diese Prozesse epigenetisch kontrolliert werden. Die Methylierung von Genen, welche einer transkriptionellen Kontrolle durch ABA unterliegen, war durch eine ABA-Behandlung induzierbar. DNA-Methylierungen kontrollieren somit wahrscheinlich essenzielle physiologische Prozesse während der Tumorentwicklung wie beispielsweise die ABA-vermittelte Trockenstressanpassung. Arabidopsis-Mutanten, welche in Nicht-CG-Methylierungsprozessen beeinträchtigt sind, entwickelten größere Tumore als die Kontrollpflanzen der entsprechenden Wildtypen. Dies weist auf eine Inhibierung des Tumor-Wachstums durch ein hypermethyliertes Genom, insbesondere der Nicht-CG-Motive hin. Insgesamt zeigen die Ergebnisse, dass Genexpression, physiologische Prozesse und die Entwicklung pflanzlicher Tumore einer Regulation durch DNA-Methylierung unterliegen. N2 - Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a plant pathogen which causes formation of crown gall tumors on a wide range of host species as a result of integration of its T-DNA into the plant genome. Expression of the T-DNA encoded oncogenes triggers proliferation and differentiation of crown galls, a process which is associated with severe global gene expression and physiological changes. DNA methylation changes are known to contribute to transcriptional changes which facilitate neoplastic growth in mammals. However, the role of epigenetic processes in physiology and development of plant tumors is not yet understood. Therefore, in this study the methylation pattern of Arabidopsis crown galls was analyzed on a genome-wide and single gene level. The proliferation-provoking oncogenes ipt, iaaH and iaaM, which are integrated into the plant genome along with the T-DNA, were shown to be unmethylated in the tumor genome. Nevertheless, they are susceptible to epigenetic modifications as siRNA-mediated methylation prevented both oncogene transcription and subsequent tumor development. The genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation by methylcytosine immunoprecipitation and tiling arrays revealed a globally hypermethylated tumor genome compaired to that of the tumor-free stems. This contrasts the methylation patterns in most mammalian cancers, which are typically associated with global hypomethylation and local hypermethylation of gene promoters. In crown gall tumors, promoters where rather hypomethylated. Methylation differences of crown galls and stem tissue correlated well with transcriptional changes. Especially genes involved in development and cell division were differentially methylated, implying that these processes are epigenetically controlled in the tumor. Methylation of genes which are known to be transcriptionally inhibited in an ABA-dependent manner was inducible upon ABA treatment. This suggests that DNA methylation controls essential physiological processes during crown gall development, such as ABA-mediated drought stress adaption. Arabidopsis mutants impaired in non-CG methylation developed larger tumors than wild-type controls, which indicates that hypermethylation of non-CG motifs inhibits plant tumor growth. In summary, the results of this study provide evidence that gene expression, physiological processes and the development of plant tumors are regulated by DNA methylation. KW - Abscisinsäure KW - Ackerschmalwand KW - DNS KW - Methylierung KW - Wurzelhalsgalle KW - DNA-Methylierung KW - Wurzelhalsgallen KW - ABA KW - Tumorentwicklung KW - DNA methylation KW - crown galls KW - ABA KW - tumor development Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-77732 ER -