CHINEN, Annie; EDMANDS, Suzanne; University of Southern California; University of Southern California: Testing for the effects of hybridization on levels of DNA methylation in Tigriopus californicus, an intertidal copepod.

We are seeking to determine the genomic levels and patterns of cytosine methylation in Tigriopus californicus and the extent to which this epigenetic modification might be altered by interpopulation hybridization. Two techniques are currently being employed: methylation-sensitive amplified fragment length polymorphism (MS-AFLP) and bisulfite modification and sequencing. Seven AFLP primer sets and two loci (5.8S and mtCOI) have been assayed in individuals of two populations. Cytosine methylation appears present in rDNA. However, the status of methylation levels in T. californicus still remains elusive as recent AFLP analyses do not support preliminary findings. Future work will include screening more AFLP primer sets as well as bisulfite modification and sequencing of additional nuclear and mitochondrial loci.