%0 Journal Article %A Changqing Zhang %A Yu-Hung Hung %A Xiang-Qian Zhang %A Dapeng Zhang %A Wenyan Xiao %A Lakshminarayan M. Iyer %A L. Aravind %A Jin Hoe Huh %A Tzung-Fu Hsieh %T The roles of Conserved Domains in DEMETER-Mediated Active DNA Demethylation in planta %D 2017 %R 10.1101/175091 %J bioRxiv %P 175091 %X DNA methylation plays critical roles in maintaining genome stability, genomic imprinting, transposon silencing, and development. In Arabidopsis genomic imprinting is established in the central cell by DEMETER (DME)-mediated active DNA demethylation, and is essential for seed viability. DME is a large polypeptide with multiple poorly characterized conserved domains. Here we show that the C-terminal enzymatic core of DME is sufficient to complement dme associated developmental defects. When targeted by a native DME promoter, nuclear-localized DME C-terminal region rescues dme seed abortion and pollen germination defects, and ameliorates CG hypermethylation phenotype in dme-2 endosperm. Furthermore, targeted expression of the DME N-terminal region in wild-type central cell induces dme-like seed abortion phenotype. Our results support a bipartite organization for DME protein, and suggest that the N-terminal region might have regulatory function such as assisting in DNA binding and enhancing the processivity of active DNA demethylation in heterochromatin targets. %U https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2017/08/10/175091.full.pdf