Abstract:Heritable epigenetic modulation of gene expression is a candidate mechanism to explain parental environmental effects on offspring phenotypes, but current evidence for environment-induced epigenetic changes that persist in offspring generations is scarce. In apomictic dandelions, exposure to various stresses was previously shown to heritably alter DNA methylation patterns. In this study we explore whether these induced changes are accompanied by heritable effects on offspring phenotypes. We observed effects of… Show more
“…In apomictic dandelions, Taraxacum officinale, environmentally induced changes in DNA methylation can be transmitted to the progeny (Verhoeven et al 2010). The stress treatments were associated with phenotypic effects in the progeny, but they differed among genotypes and were only partly reproducible in subsequent experiments, indicating a stochastic component (Verhoeven and van Gurp 2012).…”
Section: Epigenetic Variation In Natural Populationsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Such epialleles contribute to the phenotypic diversity of a population and, hence, may have a role in adaptation and evolution. Moreover, the formation of certain epialleles may be triggered by the environment, as suggested in several recent plant studies (Molinier et al 2006;Hauben et al 2009;Boyko et al 2010;Kathiria et al 2010;Lang-Mladek et al 2010;Verhoeven and van Gurp 2012). If such effects last for several generations, the modern evolutionary synthesis will have to be expanded.…”
Plant populations show phenotypic diversity, which may be caused by genetic and epigenetic variation. It has recently been shown that new epigenetic variants are generated at a higher rate than genetic variants and several studies have shown that epigenetic variation can be influenced by the environment. Although the heritability of environmentally induced epigenetic traits has gained increasing interest in past years, it is still not clear whether and to what extent induced epigenetic changes have a role in ecology and evolution. Some reports on model and nonmodel species support the possibility of adaptive epigenetic alleles, indicating that epigenetic variants are subject to natural selection. However, most of these studies rely solely on phenotypic data and no information is available about the underlying mechanisms. Thus, the role of inherited epigenetic variation for plant adaptation is unclear and further investigations are required to gain insights into the significance of epigenetic variation for ecological and evolutionary processes. Here, we review mechanisms of epigenetic regulation, epigenetic responses to environmental challenges, their inheritance, and their implication for adaptation and plant evolution.
“…In apomictic dandelions, Taraxacum officinale, environmentally induced changes in DNA methylation can be transmitted to the progeny (Verhoeven et al 2010). The stress treatments were associated with phenotypic effects in the progeny, but they differed among genotypes and were only partly reproducible in subsequent experiments, indicating a stochastic component (Verhoeven and van Gurp 2012).…”
Section: Epigenetic Variation In Natural Populationsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Such epialleles contribute to the phenotypic diversity of a population and, hence, may have a role in adaptation and evolution. Moreover, the formation of certain epialleles may be triggered by the environment, as suggested in several recent plant studies (Molinier et al 2006;Hauben et al 2009;Boyko et al 2010;Kathiria et al 2010;Lang-Mladek et al 2010;Verhoeven and van Gurp 2012). If such effects last for several generations, the modern evolutionary synthesis will have to be expanded.…”
Plant populations show phenotypic diversity, which may be caused by genetic and epigenetic variation. It has recently been shown that new epigenetic variants are generated at a higher rate than genetic variants and several studies have shown that epigenetic variation can be influenced by the environment. Although the heritability of environmentally induced epigenetic traits has gained increasing interest in past years, it is still not clear whether and to what extent induced epigenetic changes have a role in ecology and evolution. Some reports on model and nonmodel species support the possibility of adaptive epigenetic alleles, indicating that epigenetic variants are subject to natural selection. However, most of these studies rely solely on phenotypic data and no information is available about the underlying mechanisms. Thus, the role of inherited epigenetic variation for plant adaptation is unclear and further investigations are required to gain insights into the significance of epigenetic variation for ecological and evolutionary processes. Here, we review mechanisms of epigenetic regulation, epigenetic responses to environmental challenges, their inheritance, and their implication for adaptation and plant evolution.
“…In dandelions (Taraxacum officinale), the genomewide pattern of DNA methylation is modified if the parental plants are exposed to environmental stress and the progeny show modifications of root/shoot biomass ratio, P content, leaf morphology, and stress tolerance relative to the control. DNA methylation is implicated because chemical suppression of DNA methyltransferase blocks the transgenerational effects (Verhoeven and Van Gurp 2012). A third example involves rice plants subjected to the stress involved in regeneration from tissue culture.…”
Section: Transgenerational Epigenetic Regulation In Response To Stressmentioning
SUMMARYIn this article, we review environmentally mediated epigenetic regulation in plants using two case histories. One of these, vernalization, mediates adaptation of plants to different environments and it exemplifies processes that are reset in each generation. The other, virus-induced silencing, involves transgenerationally inherited epigenetic modifications. Heritable epigenetic marks may result in heritable phenotypic variation, influencing fitness, and so be subject to natural selection. However, unlike genetic inheritance, the epigenetic modifications show instability and are influenced by the environment. These two case histories are then compared with other phenomena in plant biology that are likely to represent epigenetic regulation in response to the environment.
Outline
“…(Herrera and Bazaga, 2011) and regulation of flowering time in Arabidopsis (Bastow et al, 2004). These environmentally induced epigenetic modifications can be heritable Verhoeven and van Gurp, 2012) and could potentially play an important role in species responses to rapid, directional climatic change (Bossdorf et al, 2008;Becker and Weigel, 2012).…”
Section: Epigenetics and Evolutionary Adaptationmentioning
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