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Evolutionary Significance of Epigenetic Variation

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Plant Genome Diversity Volume 1

Abstract

Several chapters in this volume demonstrate how epigenetic work at the molecular level over the last few decades has revolutionized our understanding of genome function and developmental biology. However, epigenetic processes not only further our understanding of variation and regulation at the genomic and cellular levels, they also challenge our understanding of heritable phenotypic variation at the level of whole organisms and even the process of evolution by natural selection (Jablonka and Lamb 1989, 1995; Danchin et al. 2011). Although many of the epigenetic mechanisms involved in differential gene expression are reset each generation, some epigenetic marks are faithfully transmitted across generations (Jablonka and Raz 2009; Verhoeven et al. 2010a). In addition, we now know that natural variation exists not only at the DNA sequence level but also the epigenetic level (e.g., Vaughn et al. 2007; Herrera and Bazaga 2010). This may be particularly common in plants, and several studies suggest that epigenetic variation alone can cause significant heritable variation in phenotypic traits (e.g., Cubas et al. 1999; Johannes et al. 2009; Scoville et al. 2011). Because of these observations, there is currently increasing interest in understanding the role of epigenetic processes in ecology and evolution (e.g., Richards 2006, 2011; Bossdorf et al. 2008; Johannes et al. 2008; Richards et al. 2010a).

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Jonathan Wendel for the invitation to write this chapter as well as JF Wendel and X Zhang for feedback on previous versions of the manuscript. This work was supported by University of South Florida (CR), the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (KJFV), and the Swiss National Science Foundation (OB).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, 4202 E Fowler Ave, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA

    Christina L. Richards

  2. Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Koen J. F. Verhoeven

  3. Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Oliver Bossdorf

Authors
  1. Christina L. Richards
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  2. Koen J. F. Verhoeven
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  3. Oliver Bossdorf
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christina L. Richards .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Botany, Iowa State University, Ames, 50011-1024, Iowa, USA

    Jonathan F. Wendel

  2. Inst. Botanik und Botanischer Garten, Universität Wien, Rennweg 14, Wien, 1030, Austria

    Johann Greilhuber

  3. Inst. Experimental Botany, Dept. Plant Biotechnology, ASCR Olomouc, Sokolovska 6, Olomouc, 772 00, Czech Republic

    Jaroslav Dolezel

  4. Dept. Jodrell Lab., Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, TW9 3AB, Surrey, United Kingdom

    Ilia J. Leitch

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© 2012 Springer Verlag Wien

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Richards, C.L., Verhoeven, K.J.F., Bossdorf, O. (2012). Evolutionary Significance of Epigenetic Variation. In: Wendel, J., Greilhuber, J., Dolezel, J., Leitch, I. (eds) Plant Genome Diversity Volume 1. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1130-7_16

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