High-throughput sequencing of unmethylated DNA (UMR-seq) reveals extensive epigenetic variation in the hypomethylome of diverse plant species

UMR-seq captures unmethylated regions and simultaneously profiles genetic variants, enabling population-scale wheat analysis at 1/50th the conventional methylome cost while improving genomic prediction.

• Why it matters: Whole-genome methylome and genetic analyses are costly and separate, limiting population or breeding-scale studies of how epigenetic variation relates to traits.
• What they did: The method uses specific capture of UMRs with concurrent sequencing of genetic variants, then applies it to a panel of 187 elite wheat cultivars.
• The result: UMR variation profiling improved genomic prediction across population groups and UMR-based association mapping found trait links largely distinct from SNPs, expanding opportunities for trait biology and predictive breeding.

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