Phenotypic plasticity is a major mechanism whereby organisms adjust their traits to changes in environmental conditions. In the context of range expansions, plasticity is especially important, as plastic changes in traits can lead to rapid adaptation. For these reasons, there has been growing interest in the role of molecular epigenetic processes in range expansions. One epigenetic process in particular, DNA methylation, enables organisms to adjust gene expression contingent on the environment, which suggests it may play a role in some invasions. Nevertheless, we know little about how methylation is regulated in wildlife, especially expression of the enzymes responsible for altering methyl marks on the genome. The most important forms of these enzymes in vertebrates are DNA methyltransferase 1, which largely maintains existing methyl marks, DNA methyltransferase 3, which creates most de novo methyl marks, and TET2, which is a major demethylator of CpG motifs, genomic regions where most methyl marks occur. In this study, we compared expression of these genes in three tissues (i.e., gut, liver, and spleen) of house sparrows (Passer domesticus) from 9 locations. Some sparrow populations derived from the native range (i.e., Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Vietnam) whereas others were introduced <150 years ago (i.e., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Senegal). Our hypothesis was that non-native birds and/or birds from sites with comparatively unpredictable climates would express more of all three genes. We found, however, that DNMT expression differences, while extensive, were reversed of predictions: all three genes were expressed more in sparrows from the native range and from areas with more predictable temperatures. Surprisingly, gene expression was also strongly correlated among populations and within-individuals. Our results reveal no simple role for these enzymes in range expansions, but the appreciable among and within-population variation in these enzymes warrants more detailed investigations.
