title: Epigenetic variation creates potential for evolution of plant phenotypic plasticity.
abstract: Heritable variation in plant phenotypes, and thus potential for evolutionary change, can in principle not only be caused by variation in DNA sequence, but also by underlying epigenetic variation. However, the potential scope of such phenotypic effects and their evolutionary significance are largely unexplored. Here, we conducted a glasshouse experiment in which we tested the response of a large number of epigenetic recombinant inbred lines (epiRILs) of Arabidopsis thaliana--lines that are nearly isogenic but highly variable at the level of DNA methylation--to drought and increased nutrient conditions. We found significant heritable variation among epiRILs both in the means of several ecologically important plant traits and in their plasticities to drought and nutrients. Significant selection gradients, that is, fitness correlations, of several mean traits and plasticities suggest that selection could act on this epigenetically based phenotypic variation. Our study provides evidence that variation in DNA methylation can cause substantial heritable variation of ecologically important plant traits, including root allocation, drought tolerance and nutrient plasticity, and that rapid evolution based on epigenetic variation alone should thus be possible.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Yuan-Ye
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Mixte de Recherche 8197, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale Unité 1024, Paris F-75005, France.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Colot
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bossdorf
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D019175:DNA Methylation; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D055864:Droughts; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable; D012641:Selection, Genetic
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant