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Abstract
Growing evidence shows that epigenetic mechanisms contribute to complex traits, with implications across many fields of biology. In plant ecology, recent studies have attempted to merge ecological experiments with epigenetic analyses to elucidate the contribution of epigenetics to plant phenotypes, stress responses, adaptation to habitat, and range distributions. While there has been some progress in revealing the role of epigenetics in ecological processes, studies with non-model species have so far been limited to describing broad patterns based on anonymous markers of DNA methylation. In contrast, studies with model species have benefited from powerful genomic resources, which contribute to a more mechanistic understanding but have limited ecological realism. Understanding the significance of epigenetics for plant ecology requires increased transfer of knowledge and methods from model species research to genomes of evolutionarily divergent species, and examination of responses to complex natural environments at a more mechanistic level. This requires transforming genomics tools specifically for studying non-model species, which is challenging given the large and often polyploid genomes of plants. Collaboration among molecular geneticists, ecologists and bioinformaticians promises to enhance our understanding of the mutual links between genome function and ecological processes.
Highlights
The DNA of all higher organisms is subject to different chemical modifications that influence gene activity and expression, and that are summed up under the term ‘epigenetics’
This review focuses on the progress in ecological plant epigenetics accomplished by molecular epigenetics as well as evolutionary ecology, following the series of seven key questions outlined above
Several ecological studies have searched for epigenetic variation that correlates with habitat or with population differentiation, and have found (1) that variation in DNA methylation usually exceeds variation in DNA sequence markers when populations from contrasting habitats are compared (e.g. Lira-Medeiros et al 2010; Herrera & Bazaga 2010; Richards et al 2012; Medrano et al 2014; Schulz et al 2014; but see Foust et al 2016; Robertson et al 2017), (2) that epigenetic differences are often correlated with ecological factors and (3) that some of these relationships are unrelated to patterns of genetic relatedness
Summary
The DNA of all higher organisms is subject to different chemical modifications that influence gene activity and expression, and that are summed up under the term ‘epigenetics’. One of these processes is DNA methylation, the addition of a methyl group to one of the four bases in the DNA molecule (usually cytosine). The idea that within-species variation in such epigenetic modifications may be important for the ecology and evolution of species has captivated biologists during recent years
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