Inheritance of acquired adaptive cold tolerance in rice through DNA methylation. Oryza sativa

Epigenetic pathways could provide a mechanistic explanation for the inheritance of acquired characteristics (IAC). However, epigenetic alterations that endow adaptive hereditary traits have rarely been observed. Here, we identified an epiallele conferring acquired and heritable cold tolerance, an adaptive trait enabling the northward spread of rice. We subjected cold-sensitive rice to multigenerational cold stress and identified a line with acquired stable inheritance of cold tolerance. DNA hypomethylation variation in the Acquired Cold Tolerance 1 (ACT1) gene rendered its expression insensitive to cold. Raw data used are deposited here.