Limited Contribution of DNA Methylation Variation to Expression Regulation in Arabidopsis thaliana.

ABSTRACT: The extent to which epigenetic variation affects complex traits in natural populations is not known. We addressed this question using transcriptome and DNA methylation data from a sample of 135 sequenced A. thaliana accessions. Across individuals, expression was significantly associated with cis-methylation for hundreds of genes, and many of these associations remained significant after taking SNP effects into account. The pattern of correlations differed markedly between gene body methylation and transposable element methylation. The former was usually positively correlated with expression, and the latter usually negatively correlated, although exceptions were found in both cases. Finally, we developed graphical models of causality that adapt to a sample with heavy population structure, a

SUBMITTER: Meng D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4939946 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature