Abstract
In eycaryotic DNA, cytosines are modified into 5-methylcytosine(m5C), which is referred as DNA methylation. It suppresses expression of genes and transposable elements. In higher plants, the position of m5C in genomic DNA is usually maintained through somatic cell division. In germ cells, however, it is not clear whether this is the case. In the present study, we analyzed inheritance of methylation patterns.
When rice germinated seeds were artificially demethylated, mature plants showed a dwarf phenotype. This was heritable through progenies. Using this material, we examined whether or not there is a rule in inheritance of demethylation patterns. Results showed that: (1) m5C content was reduced in dwarf lines through generations. (2) methylation level differed in a sequence-specific manner. (3) several specific genes which were demethylated through dwarf lines were present. Further determination of chromosomal positions as well as functions of these genes will elucidate the rule about methylation maintenance.
