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Letter

Nature Genetics 34, 450–454 (1 August 2003) | doi:10.1038/ng1210

Formation of stable epialleles and their paramutation-like interaction in tetraploid Arabidopsis thaliana

Ortrun Mittelsten Scheid , Karin Afsar & Jerzy Paszkowski

Polyploidization is found frequently in plants, and species previously considered to be diploid may show remnants of earlier polyploidization events on closer inspection of their genomes. The success of polyploids may lie in increased genetic redundancy supporting subsequent genetic diversification.