Mapping the epigenetic basis of complex traits.

This analysis of experimentally induced 'epialleles' advances the field of epigenetics by demonstrating their relevance to the inheritance of biologically significant traits. Earlier work in Arabidopsis had demonstrated that epialleles with altered DNA methylation profiles could be simply obtained in ddm1 mutants that are defective in DNA methylation. Moreover, many of these epialleles could be shown to persist even after methylase activity was restored by crosses with wild type plants.