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Analysis of DNA cytosine methylation patterns in maize hybrids and their parents

  • Original Papers
  • Published:
Biologia Plantarum

Abstract

In order to better understand the molecular basis of heterosis in maize, the methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism method was used to estimate patterns of cytosine methylation in seedling roots and leaves and 15-d postfertilization embryo and endosperm tissues of hybrids and their parental lines Zheng58 and Chang7-2. In all tissues, total relative methylation levels in the hybrids were lower than corresponding mid-parent values, with a higher number of demethylation events inferred for the hybrids. The trend of reduced methylation and increased demethylation in the hybrids relative to their parents may allow de-repression and possibly the expression of various genes associated with a hybrid phenotypic variation. To further investigate observed methylation pattern changes, we sequenced 50 differentially displayed DNA fragments. The BLAST analysis revealed that 13 fragments shared similarity with known functional proteins in maize or other plant species including proteins related to metabolism, transposons/retrotransposons, development, stress response, and signal transduction. The genes associated with these proteins may thus contribute significantly to maize hybrid vigour.

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Abbreviations

C:

Chang7-2

MSAP:

methylation sensitive amplification polymorphism

Z:

Zheng58

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Agronomy, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Development Zone, Daqing, 163319, P.R. China

    L. -F. Sun

  2. College of Plant Science, Jilin University, 5333 Xi’an Road, Changchun, 130062, P.R. China

    L. -F. Sun, T. -J. Liu, X. -H. Shan, S. -Z. Su, S. -P. Li & Y. -P. Yuan

  3. College of Agronomy, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Road, Changchun, 130118, P.R. China

    J. Zhang

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  1. L. -F. Sun
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  2. T. -J. Liu
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  4. S. -Z. Su
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  5. S. -P. Li
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Correspondence to Y. -P. Yuan or J. Zhang.

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Acknowledgments: This research was supported by the National High Technology Reasearch and Development Program of China (863 Program, No. 2011AA10A103), the Science Development Planning of Jilin Province (No. 20126030), and the Science and Technology Backbone Research Startup Projects in Crop Science at the Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University (No. ZWXQDJ-6). We thank the reviewers for their constructive suggestions for improving this manuscript.

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Sun, L.F., Liu, T.J., Shan, X.H. et al. Analysis of DNA cytosine methylation patterns in maize hybrids and their parents. Biol Plant 59, 266–272 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-015-0490-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10535-015-0490-5

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