Analysis of Different Ploidy and Parent–Offspring Genomic DNA Methylation in the Loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus

In this study, we selected natural polyploidy loach (diploid, triploid and tetraploid) and hybrid F₁ generation obverse cross (4 × 2) and inverse cross (2 × 4) by diploids and tetraploids as the research model. The MSAP (methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism) reaction system was established by our laboratory to explore methylation levels and pattern diversification features at the whole genome level of the polyploidy loach. The results showed that the total methylation and full methylation rates decreased on increased ploidy individuals; moreover, the hemimethylation rate showed no consistent pattern. Compared with diploid loach, the methylation patterns of tetraploid sites changed 68.17%, and the methylation patterns of triploid sites changed 73.05%. The proportion of hypermethylation genes is significantly higher than the proportion of demethylation genes. The methylation level of reciprocal cross F₁ generation is lower than the male diploid and higher than the female tetraploid. The hemimethylation and total methylation rate of the cross hybrid F₁ generation is significantly higher than the orthogonal F₁ generation (p < 0.01). After readjusting, the methylation pattern of genome DNA of reciprocal hybrids changed 69.59% and 72.83%, respectively.