Exploring Genetic and Epigenetic Changes in Lingonberry Using Molecular Markers: Implications for Clonal Propagation

Area of Science:

• Horticultural science
• Plant biotechnology
• Molecular genetics

Background:

• Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) is a valuable horticultural crop known for its antioxidant properties.
• Plant tissue culture offers advanced propagation but can lead to genetic and epigenetic instabilities, impacting uniformity.
• Ensuring true-to-type planting material is crucial for agricultural enterprise success.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess morphological traits and genetic/epigenetic variations in lingonberry under tissue culture and greenhouse conditions.
• To evaluate the clonal fidelity of micropropagated lingonberry using molecular markers.
• To investigate epigenetic modifications, specifically DNA methylation, during in vitro and ex vitro cultivation.

Main Methods:

• Morphological trait analysis under greenhouse and in vitro conditions.
• Clonal fidelity assessment using expressed sequence tag (EST)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR), EST-simple sequence repeat (SSR), and genomic (G)-SSR markers.
• Quantification of DNA methylation using methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism (MSAP) technique.

Main Results:

• Hybrid H1 showed higher leaf length/width (greenhouse) and shoot number/height/vigor (in vitro) than cultivar Erntedank.
• Molecular markers confirmed genetic integrity, showing monomorphic bands in micropropagated and grown plants.
• DNA methylation varied, with higher total methylation in vitro (32-44%), but more hemimethylated bands in tissue culture compared to greenhouse conditions.

Conclusions:

• Lingonberry exhibits stable genetic integrity across in vitro and ex vitro conditions.
• Significant epigenetic variations, particularly in DNA methylation patterns, occur during lingonberry cultivation.
• Understanding these epigenetic changes is vital for optimizing lingonberry propagation and ensuring crop uniformity.