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.