title: Arabidopsis MSH1 mutation alters the epigenome and produces heritable changes in plant growth.
abstract: Plant phenotypes respond to environmental change, an adaptive capacity that is at least partly transgenerational. However, epigenetic components of this interplay are difficult to measure. Depletion of the nuclear-encoded protein MSH1 causes dramatic and heritable changes in plant development, and here we show that crossing these altered plants with isogenic wild type produces epi-lines with heritable, enhanced growth vigour. Pericentromeric DNA hypermethylation occurs in a subset of msh1 mutants, indicative of heightened transposon repression, while enhanced growth epi-lines show large chromosomal segments of differential CG methylation, reflecting genome-wide reprogramming. When seedlings are treated with 5-azacytidine, root growth of epi-lines is restored to wild-type levels, implicating hypermethylation in enhanced growth. Grafts of wild-type floral stems to mutant rosettes produce progeny with enhanced growth and altered CG methylation strikingly similar to epi-lines, indicating a mobile signal when MSH1 is downregulated, and confirming the programmed nature of methylome and phenotype changes.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA.
authors.forename: Kamaldeep S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Virdi
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA.
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Laurie
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA.
authors.forename: Ying-Zhi
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA.
authors.forename: Jiantao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA.
authors.forename: Mon-Ray
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA.
authors.forename: Robersy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA.
authors.forename: Hardik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kundariya
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Center for Biotechnology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA.
authors.forename: Jean-Jack M
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Riethoven
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA.
authors.forename: Yashitola
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wamboldt
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA.
authors.forename: Maria P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Arrieta-Montiel
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA.
authors.forename: Vikas
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Shedge
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA.
authors.forename: Sally A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Mackenzie
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001374:Azacitidine; D001483:Base Sequence; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D019175:DNA Methylation; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D015723:Gene Library; D058977:Molecular Sequence Annotation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D051719:MutS DNA Mismatch-Binding Protein / Q000235:genetics*; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000254:growth & development; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D034622:RNA Interference; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; C523213:MSH1 protein, Arabidopsis; D051719:MutS DNA Mismatch-Binding Protein; D001374:Azacitidine