Plasticity and Epigenetic variation in Phragmites australis, an invasive marsh grass

A recent field known as epigenetics has shown that the environment can impact gene expression through chemical modifications, such as methylation, of genes. This provides a mechanism for acclimation to be inherited across mitotic and meiotic generations, thus more stable than physiological acclimation, and permits more reversible adaptation at time scales shorter than natural selection. We examine the impact of epigenetics in the phenotypic plasticity of invasive and native strains of Phragmites australis.