Data from: Jack of all nectars, master of most: DNA methylation and the epigenetic basis of niche width in a flower-living yeast

In addition to genetic differences between individuals due to nucleotide
sequence variation, epigenetic changes experienced by genotypes due to DNA
methylation may also contribute to population niche width, an intriguing
possibility that remains essentially untested. Using the nectar-living
yeast Metschnikowia reukaufii as study subject, we examine the hypothesis
that changes in genome-wide DNA methylation patterns underly the ability
of this fugitive species to exploit a broad resource range in its
heterogeneous patchy environment. Data on floral nectar characteristics
and use by M. reukaufii in the wild were combined with laboratory
experiments and methylation sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP)
analyses designed to detect epigenetic responses of single genotypes to
variations in sugar environment that mimicked those occurring naturally in
nectar. Metschnikowia reukaufii exploited a broad range of resources,
occurring in nectar of 48% of species and 52% of families surveyed, and
its host plants exhibited broad intra- and interspecific variation in
sugar-related nectar features. Under experimental conditions, sugar
composition, sugar concentration, and their interaction influenced
significantly the mean probability of MSAP markers experiencing a
transition from unmethylated to methylated state. The methylation
inhibitor 5-Azacytidine had strong inhibitory effects on M. reukaufii
proliferation in sugar-containing media, and a direct relationship existed
across sugar x concentration experimental levels linking inhibitory effect
of 5-Azacytidine and mean per-marker probability of genome-wide
methylation. DNA methylation polymorphisms induced by variable sugar
environments allowed genotypes to grow successfully in extreme sugar
environments, and the broad population niche width of M. reukaufii was
largely made possible by environmentally-induced epigenetic changes
enabling genotype plasticity in resource use.