STABLE EPIGENETIC PLANT VARIANTS

摘要

The present invention relates to the fields of plant improvement and plant breeding. The invention concerns epigenetic variation in plants, and methods of capturing and stabilizing such variation to be able to provide ranges of novel plant varieties and lines useful in plant improvement or in breeding programmes. The methods involve reprogramming somatic plant cells into undifferentiated initials by expressing RKD4, BBM, LEC2 or FUS3 transcription factors using a two-component inducible expression system. New plants are recovered by growing the transformed cells in the absence of the inducer. The regenerated plants are fertile and retain the epigenetic characteristics of the somatic cells prior to the reprogramming. Whilst no changes in gene sequence take place, the regenerated plants have extensive epigenetic variation. This approach generates an unlimited source of epigenetic variation in plants, avoiding undesirable effects of using genetic lesions or chemical treatments in the known methods.