Identification of DNA methylation regulating the differential expression of homeologous genes in Coffea arabica

• Grant number: 13/17544-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: February 01, 2014
• End date: May 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Plant Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Jorge Maurício Costa Mondego
• Grantee: Natalia Gomes Vieira van den Broek
• Host Institution: Instituto Agronômico (IAC). Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios (APTA). Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento (São Paulo - Estado). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Coffee is one of the most important agricultural commodities worldwide. It has been target in breeding programs aimed at introducing new characters to obtain hybrids with superior agronomic traits, such as uniform flowering, higher yield, higher grain size, better beverage quality, lower caffeine content and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Being an allotetraploid, Coffea arabica genome is the fusion of its ancestors diploid genomes, Coffea canephora and Coffea eugenioides, which became subgenomes in this specie. Therefore, the transcripts expressed by C. arabica are the combination of homeologous genes of these two subgenomes. The regulation of these genes should modulate the expression in different tissues and biological conditions, which could explain the greater environmental plasticity of C. arabica and others allopolyploids. However, the study of mechanisms that regulate this process is one of the most challenges today. This project consists to identify DNA methylation marks in homeologous genes of C. arabica and your correlation with transcription levels in order to identify possible mechanisms for gene expression regulation. We will evaluate the homeologous gene expression in different tissues (leaves, inflorescences, fruits and roots) and developmental stages, tracing their methylation profiles. We consider this project an important step towards the elucidation of the regulation of homeologous genes in C. arabica, supporting alternative strategies for breeding and guided selection.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

VIEIRA, NATALIA GOMES; FERRARI, ILSE FERNANDA; DE REZENDE, JULIANA COSTA; SAMPAIO MAYER, JULIANA LISCHKA; COSTA MONDEGO, JORGE MAURICIO. Homeologous regulation of Frigida-like genes provides insights on reproductive development and somatic embryogenesis in the allotetraploid Coffea arabica. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 9, JUN 11 2019. (13/17544-3)

VIEIRA, NATALIA GOMES; NASCIMENTO, CESAR AUGUSTO; FERRARI, ILSE FERNANDA; SARTORELLO, MARIANA SILVA; DE REZENDE, JULIANA COSTA; MARQUES, DANIELA DE ARGOLLO; JACOMINO, ANGELO PEDRO; DE ALMEIDA, JULIETA ANDREA SILVA; MONDEGO, JORGE MAURICIO COSTA. Gene expression analysis and halting of ethylene receptors signaling pinpoint ethylene as a positive regulator of direct somatic embryogenesis in Coffea arabica. PLANTA, v. 262, n. 3, p. 14-pg., 2025-08-08. (13/17544-3)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

BROEK, Natalia Gomes Vieira van den. Homeologous genes analysis of frigida-like family and ethylene receptor EIN4 throughout reproductive development in Coffea arabica. 2018. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Biologia Campinas, SP.