Changes to DNA methylation and homologous recombination frequency in the progeny of stressed plants

Abstract

Plants undergo changes in response to biotic and abiotic stresses that help them adjust and survive. Some of these changes may even be passed on to progeny and eventually lead to adaptive evolution. Transgenerational changes in response to stress include alterations in DNA methylation and changes in homologous recombination frequency (HRF). The progeny of plants that were stressed often show elevated HRF as well as genomic hypermethylation, although specific loci that are beneficial in times of stress may be hypomethylated. One of the possible mechanisms responsible for passing the memory to the progeny involves small interfering RNAs; Dicer-like proteins, DCL2 and DCL3, are in part required for this process. However, while epigenetic modifications are often present in the untreated progeny of stressed plants, they are not usually sustained for multiple unexposed generations. Still, transgenerational inheritance of such changes has already begun to provide evidence for an important role of epigenetics in enhancing stress resistance.