SUMMARY. The assessment of factors indicating the level of epigenetic polymorphism in the population of corn seedlings was carried out using the restriction analysis and subsequent PCR and calculation of «epigenetic distance». The difference in the seeds maturity degree by the time of harvesting was shown to be one of them. The existence of another group of factors, not depending on the maturation degree and defining a higher level of polymorphism, compared to the maturity degree, was revealed. The role of ecologic and physiological factors in determining the level of epigenetic polymorphism of the next generation plants and the mechanisms of long-term «memory» about their effect is discussed.
Keywords: epigenetic polymorphism, seeds maturation, DNA methylation, blooming
