The present invention relates to materials and methods for the production of a transgene-free plant with altered methylation patterns. Particular embodiments of the invention provide methods, nucleic acids, vectors, plant cells, plants and kits, suitable to produce a plant, which is devoid of any transgenic materials, and therefore is transgene-free, but which shows an altered DNA methylation pattern. The present invention furthermore relates to methods, nucleic acids, vectors, plant cells, plants and kits for the production of a transgene-free plant wherein the altered methylation pattern results in the differential expression of a gene. Finally, the present invention also encompasses a method for modifying the methylation pattern in a target DNA sequence of a plant cell.
