Long-Lived Trees’ Epigenetic Mutations Serve as a Molecular Clock

Cells found in different branches of a tree have different patterns of DNA methylation, changes in which accumulate over time.

Written byJef Akst

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ABOVE: David Braun from BraunArborCare climbs the tree in Hood River, Oregon, used in the study.
BOB SCHMITZ

The paper
B.T. Hofmeister et al., “A genome assembly and the somatic genetic and epigenetic mutation rate in a wild long-lived perennial Populus trichocarpa,” Genome Biol, 21:259, 2020.

Like animals, plants can accumulate alterations in their epigenomes—the pattern of epigenetic marks on their DNA. So far, researchers have only examined the epigenomes of short-lived annual plant species. As a result, it has been impossible to tell if those mutations arise throughout development or just during gamete production, as many in the field assumed, explain long-time collaborators Frank Johannes of the Technical University of Munich’s Institute for Advanced Study (TUM-IAS) and the University of Georgia’s Bob Schmitz, who has a fellowship at TUM-IAS.

To understand how DNA methylation changed over time in long-lived species, Johannes, Schmitz, and their colleagues decided to investigate the epigenome of ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
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Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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