Herbicide stress-induced DNA methylation changes in two Zea mays inbred lines differing in Roundup® resistance

Abstract

DNA methylation plays a crucial role in the regulation of gene expression, activity of transposable elements, defense against foreign DNA, and inheritance of specific gene expression patterns. The link between stress exposure and sequence-specific changes in DNA methylation was hypothetical until it was shown that stresses can induce changes in the gene expression through hypomethylation or hypermethylation of DNA. To detect changes in DNA methylation under herbicide stress in two local Zea mays inbred lines exhibiting differential susceptibility to Roundup®, the methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) technique was used. The overall DNA methylation levels were determined at approximately 60% for both tested lines. The most significant changes were observed for the more sensitive Z. mays line, where 6 h after the herbicide application, a large increase in the level of DNA methylation (attributed to the increase in fully methylated bands (18.65%)) was noted. DNA sequencing revealed that changes in DNA methylation profiles occurred in genes encoding heat shock proteins, membrane proteins, transporters, kinases, lipases, methyltransferases, zinc-finger proteins, cytochromes, and transposons. Herbicide stress-induced changes depended on the Z. mays variety, and the large increase in DNA methylation level in the sensitive line resulted in a lower ability to cope with stress conditions.

Transcriptome analysis indicates the involvement of herbicide‐responsive and plant–pathogen interaction pathways in the development of resistance to ACCase inhibitors in Apera spica‐venti

“…Most DNA methyltransferases, histone methyltransferases, and DNA demethylase were differentially regulated in response to the herbicide atrazine in rice 69 . The studies aiming to detect changes in DNA methylation patterns in R and S to glyphosate populations of Conyza canadensis or in Zea mays exhibiting differential susceptibility to glyphosate showed diverse changes in the levels of DNA methylation 70,71 . Additionally, a histone modification, tri‐methylation of H3K27, was found to repress the activity of transcription 72 .…”

Physiological, Biochemical, and Epigenetic Reaction of Maize (Zea mays L.) to Cultivation in Conditions of Varying Soil Salinity and Foliar Application of Silicon

“…In recent years, considerable attention has been focused on the role of Si in increasing plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stress factors [ 15 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. Some researchers consider Si to be a quasi-essential element [ 35 ].…”

Morphological and metabolic differences between turfgrass and row‐crop biotypes of goosegrass (Eleusine indica)

“…Novel epimutations have been introduced through biotic and abiotic stress that can facilitate adaptive evolution. For example, herbicide‐induced epigenetic variations were discovered in Arabidopsis thaliana and Zea mays (Markus et al., 2021; Tyczewska et al., 2021). Weeds in managed environments are frequently subjected to sublethal herbicide doses due to inconsistencies in application technique.…”