Rate, spectrum, and evolutionary dynamics of spontaneous epimutations

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  • Adriaan van der Graaf
    Groningen Bioinformatics Centre, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands;
  • René Wardenaar
    Groningen Bioinformatics Centre, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands;
  • Drexel A. Neumann
    Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602;
  • Aaron Taudt
    European Institute for the Biology of Aging, University of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, 9713 AV Groningen, The Netherlands; and
  • Ruth G. Shaw
    Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
  • Ritsert C. Jansen
    Groningen Bioinformatics Centre, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands;
  • Robert J. Schmitz
    Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602;
  • Maria Colomé-Tatché
    European Institute for the Biology of Aging, University of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, 9713 AV Groningen, The Netherlands; and
  • Frank Johannes
    Groningen Bioinformatics Centre, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands;

Description

<jats:title>Significance</jats:title> <jats:p> Changes in the methylation status of cytosine nucleotides are a source of heritable epigenetic and phenotypic diversity in plants. Here we derive robust estimates of the rate at which cytosine methylation is spontaneously gained (forward epimutation) or lost (backward epimutation) in the genome of the model plant <jats:italic>Arabidopsis thaliana</jats:italic> . We show that the forward–backward dynamics of selectively neutral epimutations have a major impact on methylome evolution and shape genome-wide patterns of methylation diversity among natural populations in this species. The epimutation rates presented here can serve as reference values in future empirical and theoretical population epigenetic studies in plants. </jats:p>

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