Meeting Abstract

S2-2.2  Friday, Jan. 4  Personal and Population Level Epigenome Dynamics ECKER, Joseph; The Salk Institute for Biological Studies ecker@salk.edu

Natural epigenetic variation provides a source for the generation of phenotypic diversity, but to understand its contribution to phenotypic diversity, its interaction with genetic variation requires further investigation. We have carried out population-wide analyses of genomes, transcriptomes, and methylomes of wild strains of Arabidopsis. Association analyses of the epialleles with genetic variants identified thousands methylQTL, providing the first population estimate of genetically dependent methylation variation. Analysis of invariably methylated transposons and genes across this population indicates that hundreds of silenced loci are epigenetically reactivated during male gametogenesis, which facilitates their silencing in future generations.