Application of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection for simultaneous assessment of global DNA and total RNA methylation in Lepidium sativum: effect of plant exposure to Cd(II) and Se(IV).

In the present work, application of the previously established reversed-phase liquid chromatography procedure based on fluorescent labeling of cytosine and methylcytosine moieties with 2-bromoacetophenone (HPLC-FLD) is presented for simultaneous evaluation of global DNA and total RNA methylation at cytosine carbon 5. The need for such analysis was comprehended from the recent advances in the field of epigenetics that highlight the importance of non-coding RNAs in DNA methylation and suggest that RNA methylation might play a similar role in the modulation of genetic information, as previously demonstrated for DNA. In order to adopt HPLC-FLD procedure for DNA and RNA methylation analysis in a single biomass extract, two extraction procedures with different selectivity toward nucleic acids were examined, and a simplified calibration was designed allowing for evaluation of methylation percentage based on the ratio of chromatographic peak areas: cytidine/5-methylcytidine for RNA and 2'-deoxycytidine/5-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine for DNA. As a proof of concept, global DNA and total RNA methylation were determined in Lepidium sativum hydroponically grown in the presence of different Cd(II) or Se(IV) concentrations, expecting that plant exposure to abiotic stress might affect not only global DNA but also total RNA methylation. The results obtained showed the increase of DNA methylation in the treated plants up to concentration levels 2 mg L(-1) Cd and 1 mg L(-1) Se in the growth medium. For higher stressors' concentration, global DNA methylation tended to decrease. Most importantly, an inverse correlation was found between DNA and RNA methylation levels (r = -0.6788, p = 0.031), calling for further studies of this particular modification of nucleic acids in epigenetic context.