DNA methylation in Arabidopsis has a genetic basis and shows evidence of local adaptation Journal Article


Authors: Dubin, M. J.; Zhang, P.; Meng, D.; Remigereau, M. S.; Osborne, E. J.; Casale, F. P.; Drewe, P.; Kahles, A.; Jean, G.; Vilhjálmsson, B.; Jagoda, J.; Irez, S.; Voronin, V.; Song, Q.; Long, Q.; Rätsch, G.; Stegle, O.; Clark, R. M.; Nordborg, M.
Article Title: DNA methylation in Arabidopsis has a genetic basis and shows evidence of local adaptation
Abstract: Epigenome modulation potentially provides a mechanism for organisms to adapt, within and between generations. However, neither the extent to which this occurs, nor the mechanisms involved are known. Here we investigate DNA methylation variation in Swedish Arabidopsis thaliana accessions grown at two different temperatures. Environmental effects were limited to transposons, where CHH methylation was found to increase with temperature. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) revealed that the extensive CHH methylation variation was strongly associated with genetic variants in both cis and trans, including a major trans-association close to the DNA methyltransferase CMT2. Unlike CHH methylation, CpG gene body methylation (GBM) was not affected by growth temperature, but was instead correlated with the latitude of origin. Accessions from colder regions had higher levels of GBM for a significant fraction of the genome, and this was associated with increased transcription for the genes affected. GWAS revealed that this effect was largely due to trans-acting loci, many of which showed evidence of local adaptation. © 2015, eLife Sciences Publications Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: controlled study; protein expression; gene sequence; sequence analysis; nonhuman; genetic analysis; gene expression; genetic association; genetic variability; genetic transcription; dna methylation; dna methyltransferase; transposon; rna sequence; mathematical parameters; arabidopsis; gene linkage disequilibrium; genotype environment interaction; arabidopsis thaliana; plant growth; article; local adaptation
Journal Title: eLife
Volume: 4
ISSN: 2050-084X
Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications Ltd.  
Date Published: 2015-05-05
Start Page: e05255
Language: English
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.05255
PROVIDER: scopus
PMCID: PMC4413256
PUBMED: 25939354
DOI/URL:
Notes: Export Date: 2 July 2015 -- Source: Scopus
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  1. Gunnar Ratsch
    68 Ratsch
  2. Jan Philipp Jurgen Drewe
    13 Drewe
  3. Andre Kahles
    31 Kahles