Abstract
Modern sugarcane cultivars have complex polyploid genomes which impose challenges during conventional breeding. Epigenetic resources can be used as supplementary tools to improve cultivars. In this preliminary investigation, we hypothesised that spontaneous epigenetic variation occurred in two cultivars, N41 and NCo376, regarded as ‘widely adaptable’ and grown in different environments (3 agroclimatic zones and 5 regions) in South Africa. Epigenetic profiling was conducted by evaluating cytosine methylation patterns using methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism. There was a high epigenetic differentiation among NCo376 and N41 samples with differentiation index values (ɸst) of 61% and 68%, respectively. The Eston region had more influence on the variability of cytosine methylation in NCo376 than the Mount Edgecombe, Empangeni, Pongola and Umzimkhulu regions. Epigenetic distances for NCo376 showed Eston being more distinct than the rest of the regions. The results showed altered DNA methylation patterns in cultivars grown in different agroclimatic zones, perhaps explaining their adaptability. Future work could include investigating the heritability of epigenetic adaptation, because current elite sugarcane genotypes could be “prepared”, through epimutagenesis, for changing environments and even climate change. In time, more targeted epimutagenic breeding could supplement sugarcane improvement programmes.
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Acknowledgements
The National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grants 127755, 119472 and 132679) and the South African Sugarcane Research Institute (SASRI) are thanked for their financial support. Many thanks to E. Albertse (SASRI, Biotechnology) and I. Thompson (SASRI, GIS) respectively for their assistance with fingerprinting and fragment analyses and map modifications.
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RSR and SJS conceived and designed this research. MJK performed laboratory work on nucleic acid preparations, PCR amplifications, allele scoring, and genotyping, and wrote the first version of the manuscript. RMJ and MJK analysed and interpreted the data. All authors read, edited, and approved the manuscript.
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Koetle, M.J., Jacob, R.M., Snyman, S.J. et al. Long-Term Cultivation of Adaptable Cultivars in Different Agro-Climatic Zones Influences the Epigenetic Diversity of South African Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.). Sugar Tech 25, 491–495 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-022-01228-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-022-01228-x