Zea mays Epigenomics

RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) in plants is a well-characterized example of RNAi-related transcriptional gene silencing. To determine relationships between RdDM and heterochromatin in the repeat-rich maize genome, we carried out whole-genome analyses of several heterochromatic features: H3K9me2 and H3K27me2, chromatin accessibility, DNA methylation, and small RNAs, and we analyzed two mutants that affect these processes (mop1 and zmet2)