Genome-wide methylome stability and parental effects in the worldwide distributed Lombardy poplar.. Working Party on Genetic Resources (WP-GEN) - Oral presentation, Key Talk.
The ability of tree species to adjust to changing environmental conditions is vital for their survival. Epigenetic mechanisms can regulate gene expression and facilitate these adaptive responses. Understanding the causes of epigenetic variation and insights into the epigenetic stability over generations is important for defining the evolutionary role of epigenetics.
The Lombardy poplar offers an ideal opportunity to investigate the impact of the environmental history on the methylome. This clonal variety of P. nigra L. originates from a single mutant male tree that has been distributed worldwide since the beginning of the 18th century. The Lombardy poplar is propagated by cuttings from plant material that has been grown locally, sometimes for centuries. It can be expected that the large-scale vegetative reproduction may have resulted in the accumulation of lineage-specific epimutations.
Here, we present the results of three interconnected experiments on Lombardy poplar: two observational experiments on the methylome and one study on phenotypic plasticity in a common environment experiment.
In the first methylome experiment, we investigated methylome dynamics during early plant life. We studied the variability of the methylome during a growing season and across vegetatively reproduced generations. We found that ramets collected over Europe and raised in common conditions have stable methylomes in symmetrical CG-contexts. In contrast, seasonal dynamics occurred in methylation patterns in CHH-context.
In the second experiment, we investigated whether methylome patterns of plants grown in a non-parental environment correlate with the parental climate. We did not observe a biological relevant pattern that significantly correlates with the parental climate.
Finally, we investigated phenotypic plasticity over vegetative generations. We studied whether the parental environment has persistent carry-over effects on the vegetative offspring’s’ phenotype in terms of bud set. We found a statistically significant but weak short-term, parental carry-over effect on the timing of bud set. However, this effect was negligible compared to the direct effects of the offspring environment.
We concluded that methylation patterns in CG-context can be used as bio-markers to infer a common ancestor and thus to investigate the recent environmental history of a specific Lombardy poplar.
Reference
Vanden Broeck A., Meese T., Verschelde P., Cox K. , Heinze B., Deforce D., De Meester E., Van Nieuwerburgh F. 2024. Genome-wide methylome stability and parental effects in the worldwide distributed Lombardy poplar. BMC Biology, № 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-024-01816-1·
The Lombardy poplar offers an ideal opportunity to investigate the impact of the environmental history on the methylome. This clonal variety of P. nigra L. originates from a single mutant male tree that has been distributed worldwide since the beginning of the 18th century. The Lombardy poplar is propagated by cuttings from plant material that has been grown locally, sometimes for centuries. It can be expected that the large-scale vegetative reproduction may have resulted in the accumulation of lineage-specific epimutations.
Here, we present the results of three interconnected experiments on Lombardy poplar: two observational experiments on the methylome and one study on phenotypic plasticity in a common environment experiment.
In the first methylome experiment, we investigated methylome dynamics during early plant life. We studied the variability of the methylome during a growing season and across vegetatively reproduced generations. We found that ramets collected over Europe and raised in common conditions have stable methylomes in symmetrical CG-contexts. In contrast, seasonal dynamics occurred in methylation patterns in CHH-context.
In the second experiment, we investigated whether methylome patterns of plants grown in a non-parental environment correlate with the parental climate. We did not observe a biological relevant pattern that significantly correlates with the parental climate.
Finally, we investigated phenotypic plasticity over vegetative generations. We studied whether the parental environment has persistent carry-over effects on the vegetative offspring’s’ phenotype in terms of bud set. We found a statistically significant but weak short-term, parental carry-over effect on the timing of bud set. However, this effect was negligible compared to the direct effects of the offspring environment.
We concluded that methylation patterns in CG-context can be used as bio-markers to infer a common ancestor and thus to investigate the recent environmental history of a specific Lombardy poplar.
Reference
Vanden Broeck A., Meese T., Verschelde P., Cox K. , Heinze B., Deforce D., De Meester E., Van Nieuwerburgh F. 2024. Genome-wide methylome stability and parental effects in the worldwide distributed Lombardy poplar. BMC Biology, № 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-024-01816-1·
Details
| Number of pages | 24 |
|---|---|
| Type | Paper/Powerpoint/Abstract |
| Category | Research |
| Language | English |
Bibtex
@misc{465ea559-53c0-41e2-8d13-c891e25659ef,
title = "Genome-wide methylome stability and parental effects in the worldwide distributed Lombardy poplar.",
abstract = "The ability of tree species to adjust to changing environmental conditions is vital for their survival. Epigenetic mechanisms can regulate gene expression and facilitate these adaptive responses. Understanding the causes of epigenetic variation and insights into the epigenetic stability over generations is important for defining the evolutionary role of epigenetics.
The Lombardy poplar offers an ideal opportunity to investigate the impact of the environmental history on the methylome. This clonal variety of P. nigra L. originates from a single mutant male tree that has been distributed worldwide since the beginning of the 18th century. The Lombardy poplar is propagated by cuttings from plant material that has been grown locally, sometimes for centuries. It can be expected that the large-scale vegetative reproduction may have resulted in the accumulation of lineage-specific epimutations.
Here, we present the results of three interconnected experiments on Lombardy poplar: two observational experiments on the methylome and one study on phenotypic plasticity in a common environment experiment.
In the first methylome experiment, we investigated methylome dynamics during early plant life. We studied the variability of the methylome during a growing season and across vegetatively reproduced generations. We found that ramets collected over Europe and raised in common conditions have stable methylomes in symmetrical CG-contexts. In contrast, seasonal dynamics occurred in methylation patterns in CHH-context.
In the second experiment, we investigated whether methylome patterns of plants grown in a non-parental environment correlate with the parental climate. We did not observe a biological relevant pattern that significantly correlates with the parental climate.
Finally, we investigated phenotypic plasticity over vegetative generations. We studied whether the parental environment has persistent carry-over effects on the vegetative offspring’s’ phenotype in terms of bud set. We found a statistically significant but weak short-term, parental carry-over effect on the timing of bud set. However, this effect was negligible compared to the direct effects of the offspring environment.
We concluded that methylation patterns in CG-context can be used as bio-markers to infer a common ancestor and thus to investigate the recent environmental history of a specific Lombardy poplar.
Reference
Vanden Broeck A., Meese T., Verschelde P., Cox K. , Heinze B., Deforce D., De Meester E., Van Nieuwerburgh F. 2024. Genome-wide methylome stability and parental effects in the worldwide distributed Lombardy poplar. BMC Biology, № 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-024-01816-1·
",
author = "An Vanden Broeck",
year = "2024",
month = oct,
day = "23",
doi = "",
language = "English",
publisher = "Instituut voor Natuur- en Bosonderzoek",
address = "Belgium,
type = "Other"
}