Conservation and trans-regulation of histone modification in the A and B subgenomes of polyploid wheat during domestication and ploidy transition

AbstractBackgroundPolyploidy has played a prominent role in the evolution of plants and many other eukaryotic lineages. However, how polyploid genomes adapt to the abrupt presence of two or more sets of chromosomes via genome regulation remains poorly understood. Here, we analyzed genome-wide histone modification and gene expression profiles in relation to domestication and ploidy transition in the A and B subgenomes of polyploid wheat.ResultsWe found that epigenetic modification patterns by two typical euchromatin histone markers, H3K4me3 and H3K27me3, for the great majority of homoeologous triad genes in A and B subgenomes were highly conserved between wild and domesticated tetraploid wheats and remained stable in the process of ploidy transitions from hexaploid to extracted tetraploid and then back to resynthesized hexaploid. However, a subset of genes was differentially modified during tetraploid and hexaploid wheat domestication and in response to ploidy transitions, and these genes were enriched for particular gene ontology (GO) terms. The extracted tetraploid wheat manifested higher overall histone modification levels than its hexaploid donor, and which were reversible and restored to normal levels in the resynthesized hexaploid. Further, while H3K4me3 marks were distally distributed along each chromosome and significantly correlated with subgenome expression as expected, H3K27me3 marks showed only a weak distal bias and did not show a significant correlation with gene expression.ConclusionsOur results reveal overall high stability of histone modification patterns in the A and B subgenomes of polyploid wheat during domestication and in the process of ploidy transitions. However, modification levels of a subset of functionally relevant genes in the A and B genomes weretrans-regulated by the D genome in hexaploid wheat.

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Dynamic and reversible DNA methylation changes induced by genome separation and merger of polyploid wheat

BMC Biology ◽

10.1186/s12915-020-00909-x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jingya Yuan ◽

Wu Jiao ◽

Yanfeng Liu ◽

Wenxue Ye ◽

Xiue Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Dna Methylation ◽

Hexaploid Wheat ◽

Genetic Model ◽

Tetraploid Wheat ◽

Epigenetic Changes ◽

Wheat Evolution ◽

D Genome ◽

Polyploid Evolution ◽

Genome Separation

Abstract Background Wheat is a powerful genetic model for studying polyploid evolution and crop domestication. Hexaploid bread wheat was formed by two rounds of interspecific hybridization and polyploidization, processes which are often accompanied by genetic and epigenetic changes, including DNA methylation. However, the extent and effect of such changes during wheat evolution, particularly from tetraploid-to-hexaploid wheat, are currently elusive. Results Here we report genome-wide DNA methylation landscapes in extracted tetraploid wheat (ETW, AABB), natural hexaploid wheat (NHW, AABBDD), resynthesized hexaploid wheat (RHW, AABBDD), natural tetraploid wheat (NTW, AABB), and diploid (DD). In the endosperm, levels of DNA methylation, especially in CHG (H=A, T, or C) context, were dramatically decreased in the ETW relative to natural hexaploid wheat; hypo-differentially methylated regions (DMRs) (850,832) were 24-fold more than hyper-DMRs (35,111). Interestingly, those demethylated regions in ETW were remethylated in the resynthesized hexaploid wheat after the addition of the D genome. In ETW, hypo-DMRs correlated with gene expression, and TEs were demethylated and activated, which could be silenced in the hexaploid wheat. In NHW, groups of TEs were dispersed in genic regions of three subgenomes, which may regulate the expression of TE-associated genes. Further, hypo-DMRs in ETW were associated with reduced H3K9me2 levels and increased expression of histone variant genes, suggesting concerted epigenetic changes after separation from the hexaploid. Conclusion Genome merger and separation provoke dynamic and reversible changes in chromatin and DNA methylation. These changes correlate with altered gene expression and TE activity, which may provide insights into polyploid genome and wheat evolution.

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Use of a large-scale Triticeae expressed sequence tag resource to reveal gene expression profiles in hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Genome ◽

10.1139/g06-003 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 49 (5) ◽

pp. 531-544 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

S Chao ◽

G R Lazo ◽

F You ◽

C C Crossman ◽

D D Hummel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Triticum Aestivum ◽

Expressed Sequence Tag ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

Expression Patterns ◽

Tetraploid Wheat ◽

Gene Expression Profiles ◽

Triticum Aestivum L ◽

Cdna Libraries ◽

Expressed Sequence

The US Wheat Genome Project, funded by the National Science Foundation, developed the first large public Triticeae expressed sequence tag (EST) resource. Altogether, 116 272 ESTs were produced, comprising 100 674 5′ ESTs and 15 598 3′ ESTs. These ESTs were derived from 42 cDNA libraries, which were created from hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and its close relatives, including diploid wheat (T. monococcum L. and Aegilops speltoides L.), tetraploid wheat (T. turgidum L.), and rye (Secale cereale L.), using tissues collected from various stages of plant growth and development and under diverse regimes of abiotic and biotic stress treatments. ESTs were assembled into 18 876 contigs and 23 034 singletons, or 41 910 wheat unigenes. Over 90% of the contigs contained fewer than 10 EST members, implying that the ESTs represented a diverse selection of genes and that genes expressed at low and moderate to high levels were well sampled. Statistical methods were used to study the correlation of gene expression patterns, based on the ESTs clustered in the1536 contigs that contained at least 10 5′ EST members and thus representing the most abundant genes expressed in wheat. Analysis further identified genes in wheat that were significantly upregulated (p < 0.05) in tissues under various abiotic stresses when compared with control tissues. Though the function annotation cannot be assigned for many of these genes, it is likely that they play a role associated with the stress response. This study predicted the possible functionality for 4% of total wheat unigenes, which leaves the remaining 96% with their functional roles and expression patterns largely unknown. Nonetheless, the EST data generated in this project provide a diverse and rich source for gene discovery in wheat.Key words: Expressed sequence tags, ESTs, gene expression profiles, wheat, Triticeae.

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