Involvement of a Jumonji-C domain-containing histone demethylase in DRM2-mediated maintenance of DNA methylation

Histone demethylases-both lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) and Jumonji-C (JmjC) domain-containing proteins-are broadly implicated in the regulation of chromatin-dependent processes. In Arabidopsis thaliana, histone marks directly affect DNA methylation, and mutations in LSD1 homologues show reduced DNA methylation at some loci. We screened transfer DNA mutations in genes encoding JmjC domains for defects in DNA methylation. Mutations in jmj14 result in reduced DNA methylation in non-CG contexts at targets of DRM2 (domains rearranged methyltransferase 2)-mediated RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM), which is associated with an increase in H3K4m3. Unlike other components of RdDM, JMJ14 is not required for de novo methylation of a transgene, suggesting that JMJ14 is specifically involved in the maintenance phase of DRM2-mediated RdDM.