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DNA methylation status is associated with the formation of heterosis in Larix kaempferi intraspecific hybrids

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Abstract

Heterosis is prevalent in Larix kaempferi, but the molecular mechanism underlying heterosis in this species has not yet been elucidated. We have explored the relationships among heterosis and DNA sequence variations, changes in the DNA methylation status, and gene expression in a set of Larix kaempferi intraspecific parental lines and their reciprocal hybrids. The results indicate that the two intraspecific parental lines have highly similar genome structures and that the crosses did not produce substantial changes in the genomic DNA of the hybrid progeny. In contrast, there was a significant difference in the DNA methylation status between the two parental lines. The genomic DNA methylation level in the heterotic hybrids (26.47 %) was significantly lower than the midparent value (MPV) (33.80 %), indicating that significant extensive demethylation had occurred. However, the non-heterotic hybrids displayed a DNA methylation level (33.59 %) that was close to the MPV, and they contained similar numbers of methylation and demethylation events. The correlation analysis revealed that the increased gene expression in the heterotic hybrids was associated with its overall low genomic DNA methylation level and dynamic DNA methylation patterns. Twenty fragments with adjusted DNA methylation patterns were then cloned and the transcript level analyzed quantitatively. The results further indicated that the expressions of most but not all of the 12 possible genes were negatively correlated to their respective DNA methylation status. Based on these data, we suggest that adjustments in DNA methylation status may play critical roles in the formation of heterosis produced by the cross between two Larix kaempferi intraspecific parental lines.

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Acknowledgments

Firstly, we should thank the anonymous reviewers for their critical reading of the manuscript. We are also grateful to Dr. Xianchang Zhou at the Heilongjiang Forest Research Institute, Harbin, China for kindly providing all of the materials from the Larix kaempferi parental lines (Larix13 and Larix82) and their reciprocal hybrids (Larix13 × Larix82-21 and Larix82 × Larix13-6). This work was performed with financial support from the National Key Basic Research Program (No. 2009CB119105) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China and Tianjin (No. 10JCZDJC17900, No. 07JCYBJC11700).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China

    Ai Li, Wen-Qin Song, Cheng-Bin Chen, Ya-Nan Zhou & Chun-Guo Wang

  2. Department of Horticulture, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin, 300384, China

    Ai Li

  3. Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, China

    Li-Wang Qi

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  1. Ai Li
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Correspondence to Chun-Guo Wang.

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Li, A., Song, WQ., Chen, CB. et al. DNA methylation status is associated with the formation of heterosis in Larix kaempferi intraspecific hybrids. Mol Breeding 31, 463–475 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-012-9803-y

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