Data from: Effects of multi-generational stress exposure and offspring environment on the expression and persistence of transgenerational effects in Arabidopsis thaliana

Plant phenotypes can be affected by environments experienced by their parents. Parental environmental effects are reported for the first offspring generation and some studies showed persisting environmental effects in second and further offspring generations. However, the expression of these transgenerational effects proved context-dependent and their reproducibility can be low. Here we study the context-dependency of transgenerational effects by evaluating parental and transgenerational effects under a range of parental induction and offspring evaluation conditions. We systematically evaluated two factors that can influence the expression of transgenerational effects: single- versus multiple-generation exposure and offspring environment. For this purpose, we exposed a single homozygous Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0 line to salt stress for up to three generations and evaluated offspring performance under control and salt conditions in a climate chamber and in a natural environment. Parental as well as transgenerational effects were observed in almost all traits and all environments and traced back as far as great-grandparental environments. The length of exposure exerted strong effects; multiple-generation exposure often reduced the expression of the parental effect compared to single-generation exposure. Furthermore, the expression of transgenerational effects strongly depended on offspring environment for rosette diameter and flowering time, with opposite effects observed in field and greenhouse evaluation environments. Our results provide important new insights into the occurrence of transgenerational effects and contribute to a better understanding of the context-dependency of these effects.

植物表型(Plant phenotypes)可受其亲本所经历的环境调控。学界此前已在子一代(first offspring generation)中报道了亲本环境效应，且部分研究证实跨代效应(transgenerational effects)可延续至子二代及更后续子代。然而，这类跨代效应的表现具有显著的情境依赖性，且其可重复性普遍偏低。本研究通过在多组亲本诱导与子代评估条件下量化亲本效应及跨代效应，解析了跨代效应的情境依赖性机制。我们系统评估了两类可调控跨代效应表现的关键因素：单代与多代环境暴露(single- versus multiple-generation exposure)，以及子代所处的培养环境。为此，我们将单一纯合拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)Col-0品系置于盐胁迫(salt stress)环境中暴露至多三代，并分别在气候室(climate chamber)与自然环境中，评估对照组与盐胁迫条件下的子代生长表现。研究团队在几乎所有性状与所有环境中均观测到亲本效应与跨代效应，且其溯源可至曾祖父母代的生长环境。暴露时长对效应表现存在显著调控作用：相较于单代暴露，多代暴露往往会削弱亲本效应的表观强度。此外，跨代效应的表现强烈依赖于子代环境：在莲座直径与开花时间(flowering time)两个关键性状上，田间与温室评估环境中观测到的效应方向完全相反。本研究结果为跨代效应的发生机制提供了重要的全新认知，有助于进一步深化对这类效应情境依赖性的理解。