@article{fdi:010049407,
  title = {{C}ontrol of female gamete formation by a small {RNA} pathway in {A}rabidopsis},
  author = {{O}lmedo-{M}onfil, {V}. and {D}uran-{F}igueroa, {N}. and {A}rteaga-{V}azquez, {M}. and {D}emesa-{A}r{\'e}valo, {E}. and {A}utran, {D}aphn{\'e} and {G}rimanelli, {D}aniel and {S}lotkin, {R}.{K}. and {M}artienssen, {R}.{A}. and {V}ielle-{C}alzada, {J}.{P}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{I}n the ovules of most sexual flowering plants female gametogenesis is initiated from a single surviving gametic cell, the functional megaspore, formed after meiosis of the somatically derived megaspore mother cell ({MMC})(1,2). {B}ecause some mutants and certain sexual species exhibit more than one {MMC}2-4, and many others are able to form gametes without meiosis (by apomixis)(5), it has been suggested that somatic cells in the ovule are competent to respond to a local signal likely to have an important function in determination(6). {H}ere we show that the {A}rabidopsis protein {ARGONAUTE} 9 ({AGO}9) controls female gamete formation by restricting the specification of gameto-phyte precursors in a dosage-dependent, non-cell-autonomous manner. {M}utations in {AGO}9 lead to the differentiation of multiple gametic cells that are able to initiate gametogenesis. {T}he {AGO}9 protein is not expressed in the gamete lineage; instead, it is expressed in cytoplasmic foci of somatic companion cells. {M}utations in {SUPPRESSOR} {OF} {GENE} {SILENCING} 3 and {RNA}-{DEPENDENT} {RNA} {POLYMERASE} 6 exhibit an identical defect to ago9 mutants, indicating that the movement of small {RNA} (s{RNA}s) silencing out of somatic companion cells is necessary for controlling the specification of gametic cells. {AGO}9 preferentially interacts with 24-nucleotide s{RNA}s derived from transposable elements ({TE}s), and its activity is necessary to silence {TE}s in female gametes and their accessory cells. {O}ur results show that {AGO}9-dependent s{RNA} silencing is crucial to specify cell fate in the {A}rabidopsis ovule, and that epigenetic reprogramming in companion cells is necessary for s{RNA}-dependent silencing in plant gametes.},
  keywords = {},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{N}ature},
  volume = {464},
  numero = {7288},
  pages = {628--632 + 2 p. ht},
  ISSN = {0028-0836},
  year = {2010},
  DOI = {10.1038/nature08828},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010049407},
}