Population-level analysis reveals the widespread occurrence and phenotypic consequence of DNA methylation variation not tagged by genetic variation in maize.

ABSTRACT:

Background

DNA methylation can provide a source of heritable information that is sometimes entirely uncoupled from genetic variation. However, the extent of this uncoupling and the roles of DNA methylation in shaping diversity of both gene expression and phenotypes are hotly debated. Here, we investigate the genetic basis and biological functions of DNA methylation at a population scale in maize.

Results

We perform targeted DNA methylation profiling for a diverse panel of 263 maize inbred genotypes. All genotypes show similar levels of DNA methylation globally, highlighting the importance of DNA methylation in maize development. Nevertheless, we identify more than 16,000 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) that are distributed across the 10 maize chromosomes. Genome-wid

SUBMITTER: Xu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6862797 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature