Background: In recent years, nickel (Ni) has beenwidely applied in industrial and agricultural production and has
become a kind of environmental pollution. In this study, the effect of nickel chloride (NiCl
2) with different
concentrations on
Arabidopsis
genomic stability and DNA methylation has been demonstrated. The nucleolus
variation and 18S rDNA methylation after NiCl
2 treatment have been analyzed.
Results: The results are as follows: (1) The NiCl
2 could result in heritable genomic methylation variations. The
genomic DNA methylation variations have been detected by methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism
(MSAP) molecular markers, and the result showed that after NiCl
2 treatment, there was methylation variation
in T
0 generation seedlings, and partial site changes maintained in T
1 generation, which suggested that the
effects of NiCl
2 on DNA methylation could be heritable in offspring. (2) NiCl
2 brought deformity and damage to
nucleolar structure in
Arabidopsis root tip cells, and the damage was positively correlated with the NiCl
2
concentration. 3. In the nucleolus, there was an increased cytosine methylation in 18S rDNA. The plant
nucleolus variation and 18S rDNA methylation may be used as an examination indicator for Ni pollution in soil
or plant.
Conclusions: NiCl
2 application caused variation of DNA methylation of the
Arabidopsis genomic and offspring's.
NiCl
2 also resulted in nucleolar injury and deformity of root tip cells. The methylation rate of 18S rDNA also
changed by adding NiCl
2.
