Allopolyploid formation involves two major events: interspecific hybridization and polyploidization. A number of species in the Asteraceae family are polyploids because of frequent hybridization. The effects of hybridization on genomics and transcriptomics in Chrysanthemum nankingense×Tanacetum vulgare hybrids have been reported. In this study, we obtained allopolyploids by applying a colchicine treatment to a synthesized C. nankingense×T. vulgare hybrid. Sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP), methylation-sensitive amplification polymorphism (MSAP), and high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) technologies were used to investigate the genomic, epigenetic, and transcriptomic alterations in both the hybrid and allopolyploids. The genomic alterations in the hybrid and allopolyploids mainly involved the loss of parental fragments and the gain of novel fragments. The DNA methylation level of the hybrid was reduced by hybridization but was restored somewhat after polyploidization. There were more significant differences in gene expression between the hybrid/allopolyploid and the paternal parent than between the hybrid/allopolyploid and the maternal parent. Most differentially expressed genes (DEGs) showed down-regulation in the hybrid/allopolyploid relative to the parents. Among the non-additive genes, transgressive patterns appeared to be dominant, especially repression patterns. Maternal expression dominance was observed specifically for down-regulated genes. Many methylase and methyltransferase genes showed differential expression between the hybrid and parents and between the allopolyploid and parents. Our data indicate that hybridization may be a major factor affecting genomic and transcriptomic changes in newly formed allopolyploids. The formation of allopolyploids may not simply be the sum of hybridization and polyploidization changes but also may be influenced by the interaction between these processes.

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