http://genesdev.cshlp.org/content/23/14/1601

Quantitative epigenetics: DNA sequence variation need not apply

Eric J. Richards

Genes Dev. 2009 23: 1601-1605

Access the most recent version at doi:10.1101/gad.1824909

Quantitative epigenetics: DNA sequence variation need not apply

• Eric J. Richards,1

Author Affiliations

• Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

Abstract

Two recent reports, including one by Reinders and colleagues (pp. 939–950) in the April 15, 2009, issue of Genes & Development, describe the construction of Arabidopsis recombinant inbred populations that maximize epigenetic rather than genetic variation. The distribution and behavior of phenotypic variation in these populations suggest that stable epialleles can control complex quantitative traits. However, stochastic epimutation and transposon movement in these populations present some unexpected technical hurdles to implementing quantitative epigenetic analysis.

Keywords

• DNA methylation epigenetics epigenome maps methylation profiling

Footnotes