Encodes a putative transcription factor MEDEA (MEA) that negatively regulates seed development in the absence of fertilization. Mutations in this locus result in embryo lethality. MEA is a Polycomb group gene that is imprinted in the endosperm. The maternal allele is expressed and the paternal allele is silent. MEA is controlled by DEMETER (DME), a DNA glycosylase required to activate MEA expression, and METHYLTRANSFERASE I (MET1), which maintains CG methylation at the MEA locus. MEA is involved in the negative regulation of its own imprinted gene expression; the effect is not only allele-specific but also dynamically regulated during seed development. In the ovule, the MEA transcripts are accumulated at their highest level before fertilization and gradually decrease after fertilization
Computational Description
MEDEA (MEA); CONTAINS InterPro DOMAIN/s: SANT, DNA-binding (InterPro:IPR001005), SET domain (InterPro:IPR001214); BEST Arabidopsis thaliana protein match is: SET domain-containing protein (TAIR:AT4G02020.1); Has 4870 Blast hits to 4762 proteins in 465 species: Archae - 0; Bacteria - 401; Metazoa - 1924; Fungi - 484; Plants - 1009; Viruses - 0; Other Eukaryotes - 1052 (source: NCBI BLink).
