Spatiotemporal expression control correlates with intragenic scaffold matrix attachment regions (S/MARs) in Arabidopsis thaliana

PLoS Comput Biol. 2006 Mar;2(3):e21. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.0020021. Epub 2006 Mar 31.

Abstract

Scaffold/matrix attachment regions (S/MARs) are essential for structural organization of the chromatin within the nucleus and serve as anchors of chromatin loop domains. A significant fraction of genes in Arabidopsis thaliana contains intragenic S/MAR elements and a significant correlation of S/MAR presence and overall expression strength has been demonstrated. In this study, we undertook a genome scale analysis of expression level and spatiotemporal expression differences in correlation with the presence or absence of genic S/MAR elements. We demonstrate that genes containing intragenic S/MARs are prone to pronounced spatiotemporal expression regulation. This characteristic is found to be even more pronounced for transcription factor genes. Our observations illustrate the importance of S/MARs in transcriptional regulation and the role of chromatin structural characteristics for gene regulation. Our findings open new perspectives for the understanding of tissue- and organ-specific regulation of gene expression.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Arabidopsis / genetics*
  • Cell Nucleus / genetics
  • Chromatin / genetics
  • DNA, Plant / genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant*
  • Genes, Plant
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Transcription, Genetic

Substances

  • Chromatin
  • DNA, Plant