arabidopsis tissue-specific methylation project
DNA methylation at cytosine residues is an essential event required for  the normal development of multicellular eukaryotes. In mammals, DNA  methylation is restored to basal levels by the time of implantation,  while the mechanisms of change in DNA methylation during normal  development in plants remain controversial. In order to examine the role  of DNA methylation in transcriptional regulation during plant  development, we performed detailed and comparative analyses of both  profile of DNA methylation and transcription obtained from different  organs of Arabidopsis thaliana. Analyses of the resulting sequences have  identified thousands of organ-specific or organ-enriched DNA methylation  pattern. We discussed possible mechanisms and biological significance of organ- specific DNA methylation in plants.