Polycomb group (PcG) proteins convey epigenetic inheritance of repressed transcriptional states. Although the mechanism of the action of PcG is not completely understood, methylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27) is important in establishing PcG-mediated transcriptional repression. We show that the plant PcG target gene PHERES1 is regulated by histone trimethylation on H3K27 residues mediated by at least two different PcG complexes in plants, containing the SET domain proteins MEDEA or CURLY LEAF/SWINGER. Furthermore, we identify FUSCA3 as a potential PcG target gene and show that FUSCA3 is regulated by MEDEA and CURLY LEAF/SWINGER. We propose that different PcG complexes regulate a common set of target genes during the different stages of plant development.

Genomic imprinting is a phenomenon where only one of the two alleles of a gene is expressed -either the maternally or the paternally inherited allele. Imprinting of the plant gene PHERES1 requires the function of the FERTILIZATION INDEPENDENT SEED (FIS) Polycomb group (PcG) complex for repression of the maternal PHERES1 allele. In this study we investigated the mechanism of PHERES1 imprinting and found that PcG silencing is necessary but not sufficient for imprinting establishment of PHERES1. We provide evidence that silencing of the maternal PHERES1 allele depends on a distantly located region downstream of the PHERES1 locus. This region needs to be methylated to ensure PHERES1 expression but must not be methylated for PHERES1 repression. This mechanism is analogous to the regulation of several imprinted genes in mammals, suggesting the employment of similar evolutionary mechanisms for the regulation of imprinted genes in mammals and flowering plants. Supplementary material available online at

Seed development in flowering plants is initiated by the fusion of two male gametes with two female gametes-the egg cell and the central cell-which leads to the formation of an embryo and an endosperm, respectively. Fertilization-independent seed formation is actively repressed by the FERTILIZATION-INDEPENDENT SEED (FIS) Polycomb group (PcG) proteins, an evolutionarily conserved class of proteins that ensures the stable transmission of developmental decisions. The FIS proteins act together in a complex and modify their target genes by applying repressive methylation on histone H3 lysine 27. In addition to its function before fertilization, the FIS complex restricts endosperm proliferation. This function is likely to be achieved by imprinting the maternal alleles of FIS target genes. However, imprinting in the endosperm is controlled not only by the FIS complex but also by DNA methylation, and the interconnections between these two processes are now being investigated.

Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic phenomenon that causes monoallelic expression of specific genes dependent on the parent-of-origin. Imprinting of the Arabidopsis gene PHERES1 requires the function of the FERTILIZATION INDEPENDENT SEED (FIS) Polycomb group complex as well as a distally located methylated region containing a tandem triple repeat sequence. In this study, we investigated the regulation of the close PHERES1 homolog PHERES2. We found that PHERES2 is also a direct target gene of the FIS Polycomb group complex, but, in contrast to PHERES1, PHERES2 is equally expressed from maternal and paternal alleles. Thus, PHERES2 is not regulated by genomic imprinting, correlating with the lack of tandem repeats at PHERES2. Eliminating tandem repeats from the PHERES1 locus abolishes PHERES1 imprinting, demonstrating that tandem repeats are essential for PHERES1 imprinting. Taking these results together, our study shows that the recently duplicated genes PHERES1 and PHERES2 are both target genes of the FIS Polycomb group complex but only PHERES1 is regulated by genomic imprinting, which is likely caused by the presence of repeat sequences in the proximity of the PHERES1 locus.