Resetting of epigenetic cold memory through somatic embryogenesis in plant regeneration
摘要
Many plant species can propagate asexually or be regenerated in vitro; but asexual offspring are more likely to maintain environmentally induced epigenetic marks, for instance, inheritance of the prolonged cold-induced ‘vernalized state’ in overwintering plants through asexual reproduction. Here we demonstrate that ‘vernalized state’ is reprogrammed during Arabidopsis asexual propagation through somatic embryogenesis. This overturns a long-standing idea, that the vernalized state could not be reset through asexual reproduction, and provides a strategy to erase parental effects on offspring during asexual reproduction.