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Physiological differences and changes in global DNA methylation levels in Agave angustifolia Haw. albino variant somaclones during the micropropagation process

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An Erratum to this article was published on 20 December 2016

Abstract

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Global DNA methylation changes caused by in vitro conditions are associated with the subculturing and phenotypic variation in Agave angustifolia Haw.

Abstract

While the relationship between the development of albinism and in vitro culture is well documented, the role of epigenetic processes in this development leaves some important questions unanswered. During the micropropagation of Agave angustifolia Haw., we found three different phenotypes, green (G), variegated (V) and albino (A). To understand the physiological and epigenetic differences among the somaclones, we analyzed several morphophysiological parameters and changes in the DNA methylation patterns in the three phenotypes during their in vitro development. We found that under in vitro conditions, the V plantlets maintained their CAM photosynthetic capacity, while the A variant showed no pigments and lost its CAM photosynthetic ability. Epigenetic analysis revealed that global DNA methylation increased in the G phenotype during the first two subcultures. However, after that time, DNA methylation levels declined. This hypomethylation correlated with the appearance of V shoots in the G plantlets. A similar correlation occurred in the V phenotype, where an increase of 2 % in the global DNA methylation levels was correlated with the generation of A shoots in the V plantlets. This suggests that an “epigenetic stress memory” during in vitro conditions causes a chromatin shift that favors the generation of variegated and albino shoots.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by CONSEJO NACIONAL DE CIENCIA Y TECNOLOGÍA (CONACYT), scholarships 255368 to FDA; and Grant CB2012-178149 to CD.

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  1. Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Unidad de Biotecnología, Calle 43 No. 130 x 32 y 34. Col. Chuburná de Hidalgo, 97205, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico

    Fátima Duarte-Aké, Eduardo Castillo-Castro, Felipe Barredo Pool, Francisco Espadas, Jorge M. Santamaría, Manuel L. Robert & Clelia De-la-Peña

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  1. Fátima Duarte-Aké
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  2. Eduardo Castillo-Castro
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  3. Felipe Barredo Pool
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  7. Clelia De-la-Peña
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Correspondence to Clelia De-la-Peña.

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Communicated by X. Sheng Zhang.

An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00299-016-2086-8.

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Duarte-Aké, F., Castillo-Castro, E., Pool, F.B. et al. Physiological differences and changes in global DNA methylation levels in Agave angustifolia Haw. albino variant somaclones during the micropropagation process. Plant Cell Rep 35, 2489–2502 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-016-2049-0

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