Expression analysis of TRANSPOSABLE ELEMENT KILLER (TEK) knockdown lines

Investigation of the effect of the knockdown of AT-hook motif DNA binding nuclear matrix protein TRANSPOSABLE ELEMENT KILLER (TEK) in the Arabidopsis Landsberg erecta (Ler) background Transposable elements (TEs) are silenced by epigenetic mechanisms of DNA and histone methylation. The repressive histone modification H3 lysine 9 dimethylation (H3K9me2) is TE-associated epigenetic hallmark, and is necessary for DNA methylation. However the mechanism to direct the repressive epigenetic modification in TEs has remained elusive. Here we show that knockdown of the AT-hook motif DNA binding nuclear matrix protein TRANSPOSABLE ELEMENT KILLER (TEK) in the Arabidopsis Landsberg erecta (Ler) background results in robust activation of various TEs, the repeat-containing floral repressor gene FWA and the TE-containing floral repressor FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC). A four chip study using two separate wild-type seedling mRNA samples and two separate TEKi seedling mRNA samples