DNA methylation polymorphism and stability in Chinese indica hybrid rice

  • Hai Peng
  • , Guang Huai Jiang
  • , Jing Zhang
  • , Weixiong Zhang
  • , Wen Xue Zhai

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Conventional rice breeding has long focused on exploiting the DNA sequence diversity. However, epigenetic diversity, reflected particularly in DNA methylation, can also contribute to phenotypic variation and should not be overlooked in rice breeding. In this study, 20 parental lines of indica rice, which are widely used in hybrid rice breeding in China, were analyzed to investigate variations of DNA methylation and its inheritance. The results revealed a wide diversity in DNA methylation among these breeding lines. A positive correlation was seen between DNA methylation and genetic diversity. Furthermore, some of the methylated DNA was inherited in the subsequent generation, regardless of whether they were produced by selfing or hybrid-crossing. This study provides insight into the methylation patterns in rice, and suggests the importance of epigenetic diversity in rice breeding.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1097-1106
Number of pages10
JournalScience China Life Sciences
Volume56
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2013

Keywords

  • epigenetic diversity
  • genetic diversity
  • rice breeding line

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