Epigenetic variation, inheritance, and parent-of-origin effects of cytosine methylation in maize (Zea mays).

ABSTRACT: Pure epigenetic variation, or epigenetic variation that is independent of genetic context, may provide a mechanism for phenotypic variation in the absence of DNA mutations. To estimate the extent of pure epigenetic variation within and across generations and to identify the DNA regions targeted, a group of eight plants derived from a highly inbred line of maize (Zea mays) was analyzed by the methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) technique. We found that cytosine methylation (mC) differences among individuals accounted for up to 7.4% of CCGG sites investigated by MSAP. Of the differentially methylated fragments (DMFs) identified in the S0 generation, ∼12% were meiotically inherited for at least six generations. We show that meiotically heritable mC variation was consistently g

SUBMITTER: Lauria M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3948798 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature