Epigenomics of Plant Responses to Environmental Stress

Abstract

Genome-wide epigenetic changes in plants are being reported during development and environmental stresses, which are often correlated with gene expression at the transcriptional level. The sum total of the biochemical changes in nuclear DNA, post-translational modifications in histone proteins and variations in the biogenesis of non-coding RNAs in a cell is known as an epigenome. These changes are often responsible for variation in the expression of the gene without any change in the underlying nucleotide sequence. The changes might also cause variation in chromatin structure resulting in the changes in function/activity of the genome. The epigenomic changes are dynamic with respect to the endogenous and/or environmental stimuli, which affect phenotypic plasticity of the organism. Both the epigenetic changes and variation in gene expression might return to the pre-stress state soon after the withdrawal of the stress. However, a part of the epigenetic changes may be retained, which is reported to play a role in acclimatization and adaptation as well as in the evolutionary process. Probable exploitation of epigenome-engineering for improved stress tolerance in plants has become essential for better utilization of the genetic resources. This review delineates the importance of epigenomics towards the possible improvement of plant responses to environmental stresses for climate resilient agriculture.

Priming winter wheat seeds with the bacterial quorum sensing signal N-hexanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C6-HSL) shows potential to improve plant growth and seed yield

“…second generation or F1 plants) performed significantly better than control plants ( Tables 8 & 9 ). Although these improvements may partially be explained by healthy plants producing better quality seeds leading to more vigorous plants in the next generation [45-46], it is also possible that the seed priming effect is acting through epistasis in which heritable changes in gene expression patterns occurring without alteration of DNA sequences [47-48] and such epigenetic changes are known to occur in plants development and as a result of environmental stress [49].…”

Environmental Stress, Food Safety, and Global Health: Biochemical, Genetic and Epigenetic Perspectives

“…Plants, being sessile in nature, are constantly challenged by environmental stresses; hence, they have adopted biochemical, molecular and epigenetic strategies to cope up with the environmental stresses [15]. Growing evidence suggests that DNA methylation, chromatin modifications, and siRNA are involved in epigenetic regulation of genes under environmental stresses [16]. Epigenetic mechanisms have been implicated in the regulation of stress-associated genes [17].…”

“…Environmental stresses cause epigenetic alterations, many of which are not permanent (do not cause genetic change) yet affect gene expression, and some of them may be heritable also as stress memory [19]. Epigenetic changes are also being reported to be involved in regulation of gene expression during the development, tissue differentiation, and suppression of transposable elements (TEs) in plants and animals [27]. Analysis of the stressassociated genes and their regulation under the stress are continuously being utilized to improve our understanding about the ability of an organism to adapt to changing climatic conditions.…”

m6A RNA Methylation in Marine Plants: First Insights and Relevance for Biological Rhythms

“…Epigenetic modifications include all changes that provide heritable phenotypes while not altering the DNA sequence itself, such as chemical modifications of DNA (e.g., methylation) and its associated proteins (e.g., histone modifications), or changes caused by small RNA molecules (e.g., gene silencing by noncoding RNAs) [ 1 ]. These multiple epigenetic mechanisms are critical for regulating the chromatin condensation state and directly affect gene expression during organismal development and in response to environmental stressors [ 2 , 3 , 4 ].…”