Project description:In Arabidopsis thaliana a high rate of spontaneous epigenetic variation can occur in the DNA methylome in the absence of genetic variation and selection. It has been of great interest, whether natural epigenetic variation is subject to selection and contributes to fitness and adaptation in selective environments. We compared the variation in selected phenotypic traits, genome-wide cytosine DNA methylation and gene expression in two Arabidopsis recombinant inbred lines, which had undergone five generations of selection in experimental landscapes relative to their genetically identical ancestors. Selected populations exerted significant differences in flowering time and the number of branches and fruits, differences that were maintained over two to three generations in the absence of selection. We identified 4,629 and 5,158 differentially methylated cytosines which were overrepresented in genes that regulate flowering time, epigenetic processes, development and morphogenesis. Differentially methylated genes were enriched in differentially expressed genes. Thus, epigenetic variation is subject to selection and may play an important role in the adaptive response of populations in rapidly changing natural environments. Genomic DNA was extracted from whole-plant above-ground tissue of individual 25-day-old plants with the Qiagen DNeasy kit (Qiagen). DNA from two randomly chosen CVL39 individuals from ancestral (A3) lines and from 7 selected (S3) lines that had experienced 5 generations of selection in the three replicated dynamic landscapes (2xD1, 3xD5,2xD6) was sequenced (paired-end, 100 bp) using the Illumina Highseq 2000 Instrument. Single nucleotide polymorphisms and TE insertions were mapped with respect to the recombinant reference genome and compared between selected and ancestral lines.

2014-09-01 | E-GEOD-47490 | biostudies-arrayexpress

Arabidopsis thaliana

Project description:Plant response to misfolded protein in the cytosol

| PRJNA106053 | ENA

Arabidopsis thaliana

Project description:Positive fluorescent selection permits precise, rapid and in-depth over-expression analysis in plant protoplasts

| PRJNA110613 | ENA

Transposable elements and small RNAs contribute to gene expression divergence between Arabidopsis thaliana and Arabidopsis lyrata [RNA-Seq]

Project description:Transposable elements (TEs) are often the primary determinant of genome size differences among eukaryotes. In plants, the proliferation of TEs is countered through epigenetic silencing mechanisms that prevent transposition. Recent studies using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana have revealed that methylated TE insertions are often associated with reduced expression of nearby genes, and these insertions may be subject to purifying selection due to their effect on nearby genes. Less is known about the genome-wide patterns of epigenetic silencing of TEs in other plant species. Here, we compare the 24-nt siRNA complement from Arabidopsis thaliana and a closely related congener with a two- to three-fold higher TE copy number, A. lyrata. We show that TEs, and particularly siRNA-targeted TEs, are associated with reduced gene expression within both species and also with gene expression differences between orthologs. In addition, A. lyrata TEs are targeted by a lower fraction of uniquely matching siRNAs, which are associated with more effective silencing of TE expression. Overall, our results suggest that the efficacy of RNA-directed DNA methylation silencing is lower in A. lyrata, a finding that may shed light on the causes of differential TE proliferation among species.

2011-02-11 | GSE24571 | GEO

Arabidopsis thaliana

Project description:trancriptional response to 3 rhizobacteria-Arabidopsis thaliana transcriptome analysis in response to plant gr...

| PRJNA100771 | ENA