Abstract
Background: In recent years, nickel (Ni) has been widely applied in industrial and agricultural production and have became a kind of environmental pollution. In this study, the effect of nickel chloride (NiCl2) with different concentration on Arabidopsis genomic stability and DNA methylation has been demonstrated. The nucleolus variation and 18S rDNA methylation after NiCl2 treatment have been analyzed.
Results: The results are as follows: (1) The NiCl2 could result in heritable genomic methylation variations. The genomic DNA methylation variations have been detected by methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) molecular markers, and the result showed that after NiCl2 treatment, there was methylation variation in T0 generation seedlings, and partial sites changes maintained in T1 generation, which suggested that the effects of NiCl2 on DNA methylation could be heritable in offspring. (2) NiCl2 brought deformity and damage to nucleolar structure in Arabidopsis root tip cells, and the damage was positively correlated with the NiCl2 concentration. 3. In the nucleolus, there was increased cytosine methylation in 18S rDNA. The plant nucleolus variation and 18S rDNA methylation maybe be used as an examination indicator for Ni pollution in soil or plant.
Conclusions: NiCl2 application caused variation of DNA methylation of the Arabidopsis genomic and offspring's. NiCl2 also resulted in nucleolar injury and deformity of root tip cells. The methylation rate of 18SrDNA also changed by NiCl2 added.Upon acceptance of an article by the journal, authors will be asked to transfer the copyright to Electronic Journal of Biotechnology, which is committed to maintain the electronic access to the journal and to administer a policy of fair control and ensure the widest possible dissemination of the information. The author can use the article for academic purposes, stating clearly the following: "Published in Electronic Journal of Biotechnology at DOI:10.2225/volXX-issueX-fulltext-XX".
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