Epigenetic Factors of Plants’ Individual Sensitivity to Phytopathogens

Abstract

A correlation of the sensitivity to infection with phytopathogens and dynamics of its development with a difference in the plant epigenome, which is estimated by DNA methylation profiles, was studied on two varieties of winter wheat (Podolyanka and Favoritka) of the 2013–2017 harvests. It was demonstrated that fast-germinated seedlings of the Podolyanka variety wheat show a high disease resistance (unlike slowly germinating seedlings). No such effect is observed on the plants of the Favoritka variety wheat. The estimation of changes in epigenetic distance of the studied varieties by years indicates steadily high rate for the Podolyanka variety and a low one for the Favoritka variety. The issues about the association of epigenetic differences of plants with their individual sensitivity to phytopathogens, as well as the association of epigenetic polymorphism typical for the variety with the diversity of nonspecific stability strategies and biodiversity of monosowings of agricultural crops, are discussed.