I am a plant geneticist broadly interested in how life histories and environmental interactions have shaped the evolution of plants. In particular, I am fascinated by the prevalence of clonal reproduction in flowering plants and the impact this reproductive mode has on the evolution of clonal plant genomes. I recently defended my dissertation on grapevine genetics and development in spring 2024 in the Department of Plant Biology at Michigan State University, where I was advised by Dr. Chad Niederhuth. In May 2024, I am starting a postdoc with Dr. Andrea Sweigart at the University of Georgia, researching monkeyflowers.
The role of clonal reproduction in shaping DNA methylation patterns across angiosperms
E. J. RITTER, D. DESOUSA, C. E. NIEDERHUTH
Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, Plant Biology Laboratories, 612 Wilson Road, Room 239D, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Clonal reproduction is broadly prevalent across angiosperms and has long been associated with the accumulation of deleterious mutations. However, the impacts of clonal reproduction on epigenetic modifications remain relatively unknown. DNA methylation is a common reversible epigenetic modification to DNA that can have an impact on gene expression and phenotype in plants. Here, we investigated DNA methylation patterns using publicly available methylome data for 45 angiosperm species. We found that clonal plants propagated through stem-based clonal growth forms had lower DNA methylation than strictly sexual plant species in all three contexts (CG, CHG, and CHH, where H = A, C, or T). It is possible that lower DNA methylation levels in clonal plants could impact their genome evolution by reducing cytosine deamination and/or increasing transposon movement. We also explored how transitions to clonal reproduction across angiosperms have influenced the rate of DNA methylation evolution. Currently, we are generating DNA methylation sequencing data in 34 wild angiosperm species to better understand how domestication and diverse clonal growth forms impact DNA methylation levels across a broader dataset. This study sheds light on how clonal propagation influences the evolution of plant methylomes, which has important implications for plant genome evolution.