Contribution of epigenetic variation to adaptation in Arabidopsis

Schmid, Marc W; Heichinger, Christian; Coman Schmid, Diana; Guthörl, Daniela; Gagliardini, Valeria; Bruggmann, Rémy; Aluri, Sirisha; Aquino, Catharine; Schmid, Bernhard; Turnbull, Lindsay A; Grossniklaus, Ueli

doi:10.1038/s41467-018-06932-5

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Schmid, M. W., Heichinger, C., Coman Schmid, D., Guthörl, D., Gagliardini, V., Bruggmann, R., Aluri, S., Aquino, C., Schmid, B., Turnbull, L. A., & Grossniklaus, U. (2018). Contribution of epigenetic variation to adaptation in Arabidopsis. Nature Communications, 9(1), 4446. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06932-5

Abstract

In plants, transgenerational inheritance of some epialleles has been demonstrated but it remains controversial whether epigenetic variation is subject to selection and contributes to adaptation. Simulating selection in a rapidly changing environment, we compare phenotypic traits and epigenetic variation between Arabidopsis thaliana populations grown for five generations under selection and their genetically nearly identical ancestors. Selected populations of two distinct genotypes show significant differences in flowering time and pla