Intraspecific hybrids of Arabidopsis thaliana revealed no gross alterations in endopolyploidy, DNA methylation, histone modifications and transcript levels

Ali Mohammad Banaei Moghaddam, Jörg Fuchs, Tobias Czauderna, Andreas Houben, Michael Florian Mette

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37 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Arabidopsis accessions Col-0 and C24 and their reciprocal hybrids were employed as a model system to investigate the potential relationship between changes in DNA methylation, chromatin structure, endopolyploidization and gene expression in heterotic genotypes. Nucleolus size, endopolyploidization level and distribution of DNA and histone H3 methylation at the microscopic level does not differ between parents and their hybrids. Methylation sensitive amplified polymorphism revealed a largely constant pattern of DNA methylation (97% of signals analyzed) after intraspecific crosses. The parental expression profile of selected genes was maintained in hybrid offspring. No correlation was found between expression pattern and DNA methylation levels at restriction sites within 5′ regulatory regions. Thus, the results revealed only minor changes of chromatin properties and other nuclear features in response to intraspecific hybridization in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)215-226
Number of pages12
JournalTheoretical and Applied Genetics
Volume120
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2010
Externally publishedYes

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