DNA methylation patterns in the tobacco budworm, Chloridea virescens

• Published in: Insect biochemistry and molecular biology Vol. 121; p. 103370
• Main Authors: Lievers, Rik, Kuperus, Peter, Groot, Astrid T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2020
• Subjects: Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis; Animals; Chloridea virescens; DNA Methylation; Epigenetics; evolution; Female; genetic variation; Heliothis virescens; insect biochemistry; Lepidoptera; Manduca - growth & development; Manduca - metabolism; molecular biology; moths; MS-AFLP; phenotypic selection; pheromones; Scent Glands - metabolism; Sex Attractants - metabolism; Sex pheromone; Chloridea virescens; DNA methylation; Epigenetics; Sex pheromone; MS-AFLP; Lepidoptera
• ISSN: 0965-1748; 1879-0240; 1879-0240
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2020.103370

DNA methylation is an important epigenetic modification that is prone to stochastic variation and is responsive to environmental factors. Yet changes in DNA methylation could persist across generations and thus play an important role in evolution. In this study, we used methylation-sensitive amplified fragment length polymorphisms (MS-AFLP) to evaluate whether DNA methylation could contribute to the evolution of the sexual communication signal in the noctuid moth Chloridea virescens. We found that most DNA methylation was consistent across tissues, although some methylation sites were specifically found in pheromone glands. We also found significant DNA methylation differences among families and two pheromone phenotype selection lines, and these differences correlated with genetic variation. Most DNA methylation patterns were inherited, although some sites were subject to spontaneous de novo DNA methylation across generations. Thus, DNA methylation likely plays a role in a wide range of processes in moths. Together, our results present an important initial step towards understanding the potential role of DNA methylation in the evolution of sexual communication signals in moths. [Display omitted] •Tissue-specificity and inheritance of DNA methylation patterns were explored in a noctuid moth.•Ninety percent of methylation patterns were systemic, while up to 8.2% of the methylation sites were only found in female sex pheromone glands.•In eight families, 87.3–96.7% of DNA methylation sites were inherited from mother to daughter.•In a backcross family, 75–77.5% of the methylation sites showed Mendelian segregation patterns.•Finding heritable DNA methylation patterns suggests their potential of affecting the evolution of moth sex pheromones.