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Speaker: Xiaoqi Feng
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
John Innes Centre
Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
Title:
Epigenetic reprogramming in plant germlines
Time：29th Nov 2022, 10:00 am [UK] 18:00 pm [PK]
ZOOM Meeting：
ID: 817 9831 8635
Passcode：713988
Join Zoom meeting:
https://adelaide.zoom.us/j/81798318635?pwd=aXU5REpvd05QbHZwZFJZd3JvNlBodz09
Host: Dabing Zhang
Speaker biography：
Xiaoqi works on epigenetic reprogramming in plant germlines. Germ cells are “immortal” as they can be indefinitely transmitted through generations. A key regulator of their immortality is the genome-wide reprogramming of the chromatin state beyond the genetic (called ‘epigenetic’) code. Understanding this reprogramming is a crucial aspect of germline biology. Conversely, germlines are also essential for understanding epigenetics because they mediate inheritance and uniquely undergo large-scale epigenetic changes. Compared to animals, plant germlines differentiate much later and undergo distinct epigenetic changes despite highly conserved epigenetic pathways. These differences make plant germlines invaluable for revealing the core principles of epigenetics and sexual reproduction. Plant germlines are also of enormous practical significance because they produce the seeds that comprise most of our staple food.
Xiaoqi’s research aims to answer three interconnected questions regarding plant germline epigenetics:
1) How do chromatin landscapes change during germline development and what are the underlying mechanisms?
2) What are the biological functions of these epigenetic changes?
3) How are environment-induced epigenetic memories transmitted and/or erased in germlines?
Through addressing these questions, she hopes to provide deep insights into epigenetic mechanisms and germline functions, and reveal how chromatin is developmentally regulated and in turn directs development.
Selected five research outputs in recent 5 years:
1. Buttress T, He S, Wang L, Zhou S, Sun L, Saalbach G, Vickers M, Li G, Li P, Feng X. (2022) Histone H2B. 8 compacts flowering plant sperm through chromatin phase separation. Nature 611: 614–622
2. Walker J, Zhang J, Liu Y, Vickers M, Dolan L, Nakajima K, Feng X. (2021) Extensive N4 cytosine methylation is essential for Marchantia sperm function. BioRxiv doi: 10.1101/2021.02.12.428880
3. Long J, Walker J, She W, Aldridge B, Gao H, Deans S, Feng X. (2021) Nurse cell-derived small RNAs define paternal epigenetic inheritance in Arabidopsis. Science 373: eabh0556
4. He S, Vickers M, Zhang J, Feng X. (2019) Natural depletion of histone H1 in sex cells causes DNA demethylation, heterochromatin decondensation and transposon activation. eLife 8: e42530
5. Walker J, Gao H, Zhang J, Aldridge B, Vickers M, Higgins JD, Feng X. (2018) Sexual-lineage-specific DNA methylation regulates Arabidopsis meiosis. Nature Genetics 50: 130-137
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