DNA methylation mediates transcriptional stability and transposon-driven trans-regulation under drought in wheat
Authors: Reynolds, I. J., Barratt, L. J., Harper, A. L.
Date: 2025-12-05 · Version: 1
DOI: 10.64898/2025.12.04.692301 Category: Plant Biology
Model Organism: Triticum aestivum
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The study used paired whole‑genome bisulphite sequencing and RNA‑seq on wheat landraces to investigate how DNA methylation patterns change during drought stress, revealing antagonistic trends across cytosine contexts and a key demethylation role for ROS1a family members. Gene‑body methylation correlated positively with expression but negatively with stress‑responsive changes, while drought‑induced hyper‑methylation of specific transposable elements, especially the RLX_famc9 LTR retrotransposon, appears to modulate downstream gene regulation via siRNA precursors.
drought stress DNA methylation Triticum aestivum ROS1a demethylase transposable elements