Plant Epigenetics Chapter1

Abstract

Epigenetic changes in the plant genome are associated with differential genome methylation, histone modifications, and the binding of various chromatin-binding factors. Methylation of cytosine residues is one of the most versatile mechanisms of epigenetic regulation. The analysis of DNA methylation can be performed in different ways. However, most of these procedures involve the extraction of chromatin from cells with further isolation and analysis of DNA. Modest success has been achieved in DNA methy- lation analysis in plant tissues in situ. Here, we present an in situ method for DNA methylation analysis, which has high sensitivity and good reproducibility.