A suitably designed DArT assay is able to determine the methylation status of several thousand genomic loci. DNA methylation plays an important role in modulating gene expression and impacts the phenotype through a number of mechanisms often referred to as "epigenetics". A striking example of methylation-based epigenetic variation, which has persisted since the time of Linnaeus, was described for a "mutant" of common toadflax (Cubas et al., 1999: Nature 401: 157).

This kind of DNA variation certainly plays a significant role in the variation of many quantitative traits, including yield components in crops. While less spectacular than the toadflax case, such variation has important economical consequences. We can assist you in applying DArT to fingerprint epigenetic variation in your research or breeding program.