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Two-Step Maternal-to-Zygotic Transition with Two-Phases of Parental Genome Contributions

51 Pages Posted: 18 Jan 2019 Publication Status: Published

See all articles by Peng Zhao

Peng Zhao

Wuhan University, College of Life Sciences (CLS), State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice

Xuemei Zhou

Wuhan University, College of Life Sciences (CLS), State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice

Kun Shen

Wuhan University, College of Life Sciences (CLS), State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice

Zhenzhen Liu

Wuhan University, College of Life Sciences (CLS), State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice

Tianhe Cheng

Wuhan University, College of Life Sciences (CLS), State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice

Danni Liu

Frasergen Bioinformatics, Co., Ltd.

Yanbing Cheng

Frasergen Bioinformatics, Co., Ltd.

Xiongbo Peng

Wuhan University - State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice

Meng-Xiang Sun

Wuhan University - State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice

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Abstract

The maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT) is an essential developmental turning point in both plants and animals. In animals, early embryogenesis is maternally controlled and zygotic genome activation (ZGA) starts much later. However, in plants, the timing of MZT and parental contributions to the zygotic transcriptome remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that plant MZT occurs during the zygote development and is a two-step process, first involving rapid maternal transcript degradation and, second, large-scale de novo transcription. Parental contributions to the zygotic transcriptome are stage-dependent during zygote development; the spherical zygote is characterized by a maternally dominated transcriptome, whereas the elongated zygote genome shows equal parental contributions. Our results indicate that plant MZT is similar to that in animals, showing a typical two-step process; furthermore, we demonstrate that ZGA is required for zygote elongation and division, indicating that de novo transcripts are essential for the establishment of zygote polarity and promotion of embryogenesis.

Suggested Citation

Zhao, Peng and Zhou, Xuemei and Shen, Kun and Liu, Zhenzhen and Cheng, Tianhe and Liu, Danni and Cheng, Yanbing and Peng, Xiongbo and Sun, Meng-Xiang, Two-Step Maternal-to-Zygotic Transition with Two-Phases of Parental Genome Contributions (December 28, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3307384 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3307384
This version of the paper has not been formally peer reviewed.

Peng Zhao

Wuhan University, College of Life Sciences (CLS), State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice

Wuhan, 430072
China

Xuemei Zhou

Wuhan University, College of Life Sciences (CLS), State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice

Wuhan, 430072
China

Kun Shen

Wuhan University, College of Life Sciences (CLS), State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice

Wuhan, 430072
China

Zhenzhen Liu

Wuhan University, College of Life Sciences (CLS), State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice

Wuhan, 430072
China

Tianhe Cheng

Wuhan University, College of Life Sciences (CLS), State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice

Wuhan, 430072
China

Danni Liu

Frasergen Bioinformatics, Co., Ltd.

Wuhan
China

Yanbing Cheng

Frasergen Bioinformatics, Co., Ltd.

Wuhan
China

Xiongbo Peng

Wuhan University - State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice

Wuhan, 430072
China

Meng-Xiang Sun (Contact Author)

Wuhan University - State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice ( email )

Wuhan, 430072
China