DNA methylation as a possible mechanism affecting ability of natural populations to adapt to changing climate

Environmentally induced epigenetic variation has been recently recognized as a possible mechanism allowing plants to rapidly adapt to novel conditions. Despite increasing evidence on the topic, little is known on how epigenetic variation affects responses of natural populations to changing climate. We studied the effects of experimental demethylation (DNA methylation is an important mediator of heritable control of gene expression) on performance of a clonal grass, Festuca rubra, coming from localities with contrasting temperature and moisture regimes. We compared performance of demethylated and control plants from different populations under two contrasting climatic scenarios and explored whether the response to demethylation depended on genetic relatedness of the plants. Demethylation significantly affected plant performance. Its effects interacted with population of origin and partly with conditions of cultivation. The effects of demethylation also varied between distinct genotypes w...