DOI: 10.5061/dryad.2gf700s
title: Data from: Variability in DNA methylation and generational plasticity in the Lombardy poplar, a single genotype worldwide distributed since the eighteenth century

description: In the absence of genetic diversity, plants rely on the capacity of
 phenotypic plasticity to cope with shifts in environmental conditions.
 Understanding the mechanisms behind phenotypic plasticity and how local
 phenotypic adjustments are transferred to clonal offspring, will provide
 insight into its ecological and evolutionary significance. Epigenetic
 changes have recently been proposed to play a crucial role in rapid
 environmental adaptation. While the contribution of epigenetic changes to
 phenotypic plasticity has been extensively studied in sexual reproducing
 model organisms, little work has been done on vegetative generations of
 asexual reproducing plant species. We studied epigenetic variation and bud
 set phenology of the Lombardy poplar (Populus nigra cv. Italica Duroi), a
 cultivated tree representing a single genotype worldwide distributed since
 the 18th century. Bud set observations and epigenetic variation were
 studied on vegetative offspring resulting from cuttings grown for one
 season in a common glasshouse environment. The cuttings were collected
 from 60 adult Lombardy poplars growing in different environments. The
 physiological condition of the cuttings was determined by measuring weight
 and nutrient condition. Methylation sensitive amplified polymorphisms were
 used to obtain global patterns of DNA methylation. Using logistic
 regression models, we investigated correlations among epigenotype, bud
 phenology and the climate at the home site of the donor trees, while
 accounting for physiological effects. We found significant epigenetic
 variation as well as significant variation in bud phenology, in the
 absence of genetic variation. Remarkably, phenology of bud set observed at
 the end of the growing season in the common environment was significantly
 correlated with climate variables at the home site of the mother trees,
 specifically the average temperature of January and monthly potential
 evapotranspiration. Although we could not directly detect significant
 effects of epigenetic variation on phenology, our results suggest that, in
 the Lombardy poplar, epigenetic marks contribute to the variation of
 phenotypic response that can be transferred onto asexually reproduced
 offspring resulting in locally adapted ecotypes. This contributes to the
 growing evidence that epigenetic-based transgenerational inheritance might
 be relevant for adaptation and evolution in contrasting or rapidly
 changing environments.
description: Vanden Broeck et al.
 2018 FRONTIERS MS-AFLP dataData of 50
 Methylation-sensitive Amplified Fragmenth Length Polymophisms (MS-AFLP)
 for vegatative offspring grown in a common envrionment, originating from
 60 Lombardy poplar trees collected in 13 countries and representing a
 single microsatellite genotype.Vanden Broeck et al.
 2018 FRONTIERS MS-AFLP metadataData on the 50 MS-AFLP
 polymorphic markers scored; fragment size and primer combination used to
 generate the marker. Information on the primer combination is given in the
 publication Table 2.Vanden Broeck et al.
 2018 FRONTIERS bud set dataWe used a seven stage
 scoring system to cover onset and duration of bud set developed for P.
 nigra by Rohde et al. (2011).Vanden Broeck et al.
 2018 FRONTIERS bud set metadataInformation on the
 plants scored for bud set, planted in trays, each tray consist of 28
 individual cells (Tray_slots).