Alteration in DNA methylation patterns in the heavy metal-stressed plant seedlings (S0 generation) relative to the mock control (Mock) of rice ssp. japonica, cv. Matsumae.

Gel-blotting patterns were generated by hybridizing the selected probes to DNA samples digested with a pair of methylation-sensitive isoschizomers, HpaII and MspI. Patterns of three of the 18 studied sequences (Materials and methods) are shown. Evidently, all alterations represent exclusive CHG hypomethylation (occurred only in MspI digest). A, Tos17, which showed CHG hypomethylation in four of the eight treatments; B, Hombox gene, which showed CHG hypomethylation in five of the eight treatments; C, CAL-11, which showed CHG hypomethylation in six of the 8 treatments; D, Hombox gene, which showed complete stability in the methylation patterns in all 18 randomly chosen mock control plants (Mock S0). Arrowheads denote methylation alterations as a significant reduction in band signal intensity or complete band loss relative to the mock control.