Shaping inheritance: how distinct reproductive strategies influence DNA methylation memory in plants.

DNA methylation is a major epigenetic mark involved in the silencing of genes and transposable elements (TEs). DNA methylation varies significantly across the plant life cycle, but is efficiently reinforced during reproduction, ensuring stable silencing of TEs. Plants are remarkably flexible in their mode of reproduction and numerous species, including crops, can propagate asexually, skipping one or more of these critical reinforcement steps.