Detection of DNA methylation in DBF1 gene of maize inbred W64A and mutant vp14 exposed to drought stress

DNA methylation changes correlated with environmental stresses can confer a rapid adaptation to such challenges. Dehydration-responsive element-binding factor 1 (DBF1), a member of the AP2/EREBP transcriptional factor family, is induced by drought and salinity through an ABA-dependent pathway in maize seedlings. The present investigation was carried out to study the DNA methylation status of the DBF1 gene in two different maize genotypes, an inbred line W64A and a maize mutant vp14, by the methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme–polymerase chain reaction method. Stable DNA methylation upstream of the DBF1 gene in both W64A and vp14 was observed under non-stress and drought stress conditions; simultaneously, the methylation of particular cytosines in the proximal promoter or the transcribed regions was absent.