DNA hypomethylation in tetraploid rice potentiates stress-responsive gene expression for salt tolerance.

ABSTRACT: Polyploidy is a prominent feature for genome evolution in many animals and all flowering plants. Plant polyploids often show enhanced fitness in diverse and extreme environments, but the molecular basis for this remains elusive. Soil salinity presents challenges for many plants including agricultural crops. Here we report that salt tolerance is enhanced in tetraploid rice through lower sodium uptake and correlates with epigenetic regulation of jasmonic acid (JA)-related genes. Polyploidy induces DNA hypomethylation and potentiates genomic loci coexistent with many stress-responsive genes, which are generally associated with proximal transposable elements (TEs). Under salt stress, the stress-responsive genes including those in the JA pathway are more rapidly induced and expressed at higher

SUBMITTER: Wang L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8020803 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature