Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1977 Jul;74(7):2928–2932. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.7.2928

Epigenetic variation of cultured somatic cells: evidence for gradual changes in the requirement for factors promoting cell division.

F Meins Jr, A Binns
PMCID: PMC431351  PMID: 268644

Abstract

Cells of higher plant species in culture sometimes lose their requirement for an exogenous supply of a cell division factor that, thereafter, they are able to produce. This heritable change, known as cytokinin habituation, appears to be an epigenetic one rather than a classical mutation because it is directed, potentially reversible, leaves the cell totipotent, and involves the expression of a latent differentiated function. By using cloned cell lines derived from pith parenchyma of tobacco, we have obtained evidence that the habituation process is gradual rather than all-or-none and leads to progressively more autotrophic tissues. Cells in culture show reversible shifts among a range of habituated states but remain totipotent and can be induced to regain their requirement for a cell division factor. Thus, it appears that habituation involves epigenetic changes in a quantitative cellular phenotype. Our findings support the hypothesis that tumor progression in crown gall, a neoplastic disease of higher plants, can be accounted for by heritable changes in the pattern of gene expression.

Full text

PDF
2928

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aaron-da Cunha M. I. Sur la libération, par les rayons x, d'un principe tumorigène contenu dans les tissus de crown gall de tabac. C R Acad Sci Hebd Seances Acad Sci D. 1969 Jan 13;268(2):318–321. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BERGMANN L. Growth and division of single cells of higher plants in vitro. J Gen Physiol. 1960 Mar;43:841–851. doi: 10.1085/jgp.43.4.841. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. BRAUN A. C. A physiological study on the nature of autonomous growth in neoplastic plant cells. Symp Soc Exp Biol. 1957;11:132–142. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Binns A., Meins F. Habituation of tobacco pith cells for factors promoting cell division is heritable and potentially reversible. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1973 Sep;70(9):2660–2662. doi: 10.1073/pnas.70.9.2660. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Braun A. C. A DEMONSTRATION OF THE RECOVERY OF THE CROWN-GALL TUMOR CELL WITH THE USE OF COMPLEX TUMORS OF SINGLE-CELL ORIGIN. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1959 Jul;45(7):932–938. doi: 10.1073/pnas.45.7.932. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Braun A. C. A Physiological Basis for Autonomous Growth of the Crown-Gall Tumor Cell. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1958 Apr;44(4):344–349. doi: 10.1073/pnas.44.4.344. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Braun A. C., Wood H. N. Suppression of the neoplastic state with the acquisition of specialized functions in cells, tissues, and organs of crown gall teratomas of tobacco. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1976 Feb;73(2):496–500. doi: 10.1073/pnas.73.2.496. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Cahn R. D., Cahn M. B. Heritability of cellular differentiation: clonal growth and expression of differentiation in retinal pigment cells in vitro. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1966 Jan;55(1):106–114. doi: 10.1073/pnas.55.1.106. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Carlson P. S. Methionine sulfoximine--resistant mutants of tobacco. Science. 1973 Jun 29;180(4093):1366–1368. doi: 10.1126/science.180.4093.1366. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Coon H. G. Clonal stability and phenotypic expression of chick cartilage cells in vitro. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1966 Jan;55(1):66–73. doi: 10.1073/pnas.55.1.66. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Dyson W. H., Hall R. H. N-(Delta-Isopentenyl)adenosine: Its Occurrence as a Free Nucleoside in an Autonomous Strain of Tobacco Tissue. Plant Physiol. 1972 Nov;50(5):616–621. doi: 10.1104/pp.50.5.616. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Einset J. W., Skoog F. Biosynthesis of cytokinins in cytokinin-autotrophic tobacco callus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1973 Mar;70(3):658–660. doi: 10.1073/pnas.70.3.658. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Gibbs J. L., Dougall D. K. The growth of single cells from Nicotiana tobacum callus tissue in nutrient medium containing agar. Exp Cell Res. 1965 Oct;40(1):85–95. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(65)90292-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Maliga P., Sz-Breznovits A., Marton L Joo F. Non-Mendelian streptomycin-resistant tobacco mutant with altered chlorplasts and mitochondria. Nature. 1975 May 29;255(5507):401–402. doi: 10.1038/255401a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Maliga P., Sz-Breznovits A., Márton L. Streptomycin-resistant plants from callus culture of haploid tobacco. Nat New Biol. 1973 Jul 4;244(131):29–30. doi: 10.1038/newbio244029a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Meins F., Jr Regulation of phenotypic expression in crown-gall teratoma tissues of tobacco. Dev Biol. 1971 Feb;24(2):287–300. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(71)90099-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Nanney D. L. EPIGENETIC CONTROL SYSTEMS. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1958 Jul 15;44(7):712–717. doi: 10.1073/pnas.44.7.712. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Turgeon R., Wood H. N., Braun A. C. Studies on the recovery of crown gall tumor cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1976 Oct;73(10):3562–3564. doi: 10.1073/pnas.73.10.3562. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Wood H. N., Braun A. C., Brandes H., Kende H. Studies on the distribution and properties of a new class of cell division--promoting substances from higher plant species. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1969 Feb;62(2):349–356. doi: 10.1073/pnas.62.2.349. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Wood H. N. The development of a capacity for autonomous growth of the crown gall tumor cell. Prog Exp Tumor Res. 1972;15:76–92. doi: 10.1159/000392509. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America are provided here courtesy of National Academy of Sciences

RESOURCES