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Altered chromatin conformation and transcriptional regulation in watermelon following genome doubling
Author(s) -
GarciaLozano Marleny,
Natarajan Purushothaman,
Levi Am,
Katam Ramesh,
LopezOrtiz Carlos,
Nimmakayala Padma,
Reddy Umesh K.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the plant journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.058
H-Index - 269
eISSN - 1365-313X
pISSN - 0960-7412
DOI - 10.1111/tpj.15256
Subject(s) - biology , gene , genome , chromatin , genetics , transcriptional regulation , gene duplication , regulation of gene expression , dna methylation , promoter , function (biology) , gene expression
Summary Polyploidy has played a crucial role in plant evolution, development and function. Synthetic autopolyploid represents an ideal system to investigate the effects of polyploidization on transcriptional regulation. In this study, we deciphered the impact of genome duplication at phenotypic and molecular levels in watermelon. Overall, 88% of the genes in tetraploid watermelon followed a >1:1 dosage effect, and accordingly, differentially expressed genes were largely upregulated. In addition, a great number of hypomethylated regions (1688) were identified in an isogenic tetraploid watermelon. These differentially methylated regions were localized in promoters and intergenic regions and near transcriptional start sites of the identified upregulated genes, which enhances the importance of methylation in gene regulation. These changes were reflected in sophisticated higher‐order chromatin structures. The genome doubling caused switching of 108 A and 626 B compartments that harbored genes associated with growth, development and stress responses.