title: DNA sequence properties that predict susceptibility to epiallelic switching.
abstract: Transgenerationally heritable epialleles are defined by the stable propagation of alternative transcriptional states through mitotic and meiotic cell cycles. Given that the propagation of DNA methylation at CpG sites, mediated inArabidopsisby MET1, plays a central role in epigenetic inheritance, we examined genomewide DNA methylation in partial and complete loss-of-functionmet1mutants. We interpreted the data in relation to transgenerational epiallelic stability, which allowed us to classify chromosomal targets of epigenetic regulation into (i) single copy and methylated exclusively at CpGs, readily forming epialleles, and (ii) transposon-derived, methylated at all cytosines, which may or may not form epialleles. We provide evidence that DNA sequence features such as density of CpGs and genomic repetitiveness of the loci predispose their susceptibility to epiallelic switching. The importance and predictive power of these genetic features were confirmed by analyses of common epialleles in naturalArabidopsisaccessions, epigenetic recombinant inbred lines (epiRILs) and also verified in rice.
authors.affiliation: The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.|Department of Plant Biology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3258-2522
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Catoni
authors.affiliation: The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Jayne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.affiliation: The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Nicolae Radu
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Zabet
authors.affiliation: The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bayon
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Mélanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dapp
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Michal
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1776-8257
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lieberman-Lazarovich
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Detlef
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weigel
authors.affiliation: The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK jerzy.paszkowski@slcu.cam.ac.uk.|Department of Plant Biology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1378-5666
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Paszkowski
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004248:DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019175:DNA Methylation; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D009154:Mutation
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D018744:DNA, Plant; C499608:MET1 protein, Arabidopsis; D004248:DNA (Cytosine-5-)-Methyltransferases
keywords: DNA methylation; epialleles; epigenetic; transcriptional silencing