Aluminum-Induced Changes on DNA Damage, DNA Methylation and LTR Retrotransposon Polymorphism in Maize

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is a kind of abiotic stresses that causes several damages on plants. In this study, Al-induced DNA damages, DNA methylation alterations and long terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTR RTs) polymorphisms were evaluated in Zea mays seedlings, using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), coupled restriction enzyme digestion-random amplification (CRED-RA) and inter-retrotransposon amplified polymorphisms assays, respectively. Our results fairly proved that all doses of (200, 400, 600 and 800 M) caused a reduction in genomic template stability and an increase in RAPD band frequencies (DNA damage). Furthermore, there was an increase in DNA methylation ratio based on CRED-RA results. Five LTR RTs (Nikita-E2647, N57 (Nikita), Sukkula, WLTR 2105 and Stowaway) that were determined in barley genome were investigated in maize genome. Polymorphism was determined under Al stress based on the used LTR primers. It was suggested that this mobilization and methylation status under Al stress might be a part of the defense mechanism in stress.