Cytosine methylation patterns in higher eukaryotes are important in gene regulation. Along with 5-methylcytosine (5-mC), a newly discovered constituent of mammalian DNA, 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC), is the other modified base in higher organisms. In this study we detected 5-hmC in plant protoplast DNA and demonstrated its increasing content during the first 72 hrs. of protoplast cultivation. In contrast to 5-hmC, the amount of 5-mC decreased during protoplast cultivation. It was also found that 5-hmC did not primarily arise as a product of oxidative DNA damage following protoplast culture.

Department of Biochemistry Faculty of Science Palacýi University Olomouc Czech Republic

Early protoplast culture and partial regeneration in Cannabis sativa: gene expression dynamics of proliferation and stress response

Exploring the crop epigenome: a comparison of DNA methylation profiling techniques