Grafting vigour is associated with DNA de-methylation in eggplant

Elisa Cerruti, Carmina Gisbert, Hajk-Georg Drost, Danila Valentino, Ezio Portis, Lorenzo Barchi, Jaime Prohens, Sergio Lanteri, Cinzia Comino, Marco Catoni

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Abstract

In horticulture, grafting is a popular technique used to combine positive traits from two different plants. This is achieved by joining the plant top part (scion) onto a rootstock which contains the stem and roots. Rootstocks can provide resistance to stress and increase plant production, but despite their wide use, the biological mechanisms driving rootstock-induced alterations of the scion phenotype remain largely unknown. Given that epigenetics plays a relevant role during distance signalling in plants, we studied the DNA methylation genome-wide changes induced in eggplant (Solanum melongena) scion by two interspecific rootstocks used to increase vigour. We found that vigour was associated with a change in scion gene expression and a genome-wide hypomethylation in CHH context. Interestingly, this hypomethylation correlated with the down-regulation of younger and potentially more active Long Terminal Repeat Retrotransposable Elements (LTR-TEs), suggesting that graft-induced epigenetic modifications are associated with both physiological and molecular phenotypes in grafted plants. Our results indicate that the enhanced vigour induced by hetero-grafting in eggplant is associated with epigenetic modifications, as also observed in some heterotic hybrids.
Original languageEnglish
Article number241
JournalHorticulture Research
Volume8
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2021

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Biochemistry
  • Genetics
  • Plant Science
  • Horticulture

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