Analysis of the relationship between heterosis and the epigenetic modification of DNA and histones in Arabidopsis thaliana

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Arabidopsis accessions Col-0 and C24 and their reciprocal F1 hybrids exhibiting biomass heterosis are employed as a model system to investigate the complex relationship between chromatin structure and gene regulation in heterosis. To reach our goal, histone modifications and DNA methylation are being compared between parental and hybrid plants at the single gene and the genomic level. The analysis of specific genes is focused on 7 selected genes for which in expression analysis a positive or negative dominance effect has been demonstrated. The extent of epigenetic modifications at gene promoters will be compared using ChlP-PCR to quantify histone methylation and methylation-sensitive restriction cleavage followed by PCR to determine DNA methylation. Genomic level studies will be performed by Chip on chip analysis of chromosome 4 (in collaboration) and optionally by methylation-sensitive AFLP. The results are expected to identify epigenetic modifications correlated to gene regulation in heterosis and thereby will provide new insights to the importance of histone and DNA modifications in general.