Epigenetics: A Key to Comprehending Biotic and Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Family Poaceae

Abstract

Climate change has had a significant impact on many ecosystems worldwide, prompting native population species to adapt to the current weather patterns eventually. Pre-existing genetic variation in populations explains part of this adaptation. Still, recent studies have shown that new stable phenotypes can be generated through epigenetic modifications in just a few generations, thereby contributing to the stability and survival of plants in their natural habitat as they eventually adjust to the surrounding impacts. The state of chromatin inside plant cells varies, allowing cells to fine-tune their transcriptional profiles to better adapt to stimuli from the external environment. Within a cell, chromatin state changes such as post-transcriptional histone modifications and variations, DNA methylation, and non-coding RNA activity are all examples of chromatin state alterations that may epigenetically dictate certain transcriptional outputs. Recent advances in the field of ‘Omics’ in major crops has made it easier to identify epigenetic changes and their impact on plant responses to environmental stresses. These epigenetic mechanisms thus play an important role in improving crop adaptation and resilience to changing environments. This variation that has emerged can thus be exploited in crop breeding, ultimately leading to the generation of stable climate-resilient genotypes.

Drought Stress and its Tolerance Mechanism in Wheat

“…Epigenetic reprogramming, which occurs in response to various environmental stimuli, significantly shapes phenotypic variety and enhances tolerance to these challenges. According to the study conducted by Priyanka et al [73], the epigenetic process can be delineated into three distinct stages. [i] An epigenator refers to a stimulus, such as dietary factors, environmental pollutants, radiation exposure, or hormonal influences that modifies the cellular microenvironment, leading to an epigenetic phenotype.…”

Plant Tolerance to Drought Stress with Emphasis on Wheat

“…This mechanism consists of creating new epigenetic marks while erasing old ones as well as increasing the expression of some genes while silencing the expression of others [140]. Epigenetic reprogramming in response to various environmental challenges contributes to phenotypic diversity as well as tolerance to these challenges [141]. According to Priyanka et al [141], the mechanism of an epigenetic process can be divided into three stages: (i) Epigenator, which is a trigger, such as foods, toxins, radiation, or hormones, that alters the cells' environment to produce an epigenetic phenotype.…”

“…Epigenetic reprogramming in response to various environmental challenges contributes to phenotypic diversity as well as tolerance to these challenges [141]. According to Priyanka et al [141], the mechanism of an epigenetic process can be divided into three stages: (i) Epigenator, which is a trigger, such as foods, toxins, radiation, or hormones, that alters the cells' environment to produce an epigenetic phenotype. These triggering cues are transient but last long enough to initiate the epigenetic process.…”