The response of plants to stress is very important to their productivity and survival. DNA methylation plays a basic role in epigenetic regulation of gene expression in response to environmental stress. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a major source of human and animal high- protein food. Fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris is the most important soilborne disease of chickpea throughout the world. In this study, we analyzed the DNA methylation patterns by a methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) technique in a sensitive cultivar of chickpea (Kaka). MSAP used to compare methylation patterns in leave, root and stem in the control and pathogen infected plants. Nine primer combinations were used to detect cytosine methylation. The total of 3924 unambiguous and reproducible fragments were amplified and scored. The pathogen stress induced more DNA demethylation than DNA methylation in leave and root, whereas in stem tissue it was reverse. Our results showed that the methylation pattern induced by FOC infection, changed differently in different tissues of Kaka cultivar.
