Inhibition of DNA and RNA methylation disturbs root development of moso bamboo.

DNA methylation (5mC) and N6-methyladenosine (m6A) are two important epigenetics regulation, which presents profound impact on plant growth development. Phyllostachys edulis (P. edulis) is one of the fastest spreading plants due to its well-developed root system. However, the association between 5mC and m6A were seldom reported in P. edulis. Especially, the connection between m6A and several post-transcriptional regulations remains uncharacterized in P. edulis. Here, our morphological and electron microscope observation shown phenotype of increased lateral root under RNA methylation inhibitor (DZnepA) and DNA methylation inhibitor (5-azaC) treatment. RNA epitranscriptome based on Nanopore direct RNA sequencing (DRS) revealed that DZnepA treatment exhibits significantly decreased m6A level in 3' UTR, which was accompanied by increased gene expression, full-length ratio, higher proximal poly(A) site usage, and shorter poly(A) tail length, respectively. DNA methylation levels of CG and CHG were reduced in both CDS and transposable element (TE) upon 5-azaC treatment. Cell wall synthesis was impaired under methylation inhibition. Especially, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) presented high percentage of overlap between DZnepA and 5-azaC treatment, which suggested a potential correlation between two methylations. This study provides preliminary information for a better understanding of the link between m6A and 5mC in root development of moso bamboo.