Topical Collection "Epigenetic Control in Plants: Reproduction, Development and Surviving in a Changing Environment"
A topical collection in Epigenomes (ISSN 2075-4655).
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1. Plant Genomics Group, ITMO University, Lomonosova, 9, 191002 Saint-Petersburg, Russia
2. Department of Plant Embryology & Reproductive Biology, Komarov Botanical Institute RAS, 2 Professor Popov Street, 197376 Saint-Petersburg, Russia
Interests: development; sexual and asexual reproduction; genomics
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Topical Collection Information
Dear Colleagues,
Plants are sessile organisms with the capacity to respond to a varying environment throughout their lives. This capability is mediated through the moderation of gene expression without change to DNA sequence, a phenomenon known as epigenetics. Epigenetic mechanisms thereby mediate developmental progression of an organism and also the resilience to accommodate for change. Thus, epigenetic regulation in plants can be mediated in several ways, most notably mi RNA- and siRNA-based systems, histone modification and DNA methylation.
On a global scale methylation accumulates during somatic development, although external stimuli can cause either the methylation or demethylation of specific sites. About a third of plant genes are methylated at maturity but meiosis acts as a clearing house for methylation, with only a few methylated sites surviving through to the next generation. Atypical methylation can cause developmental or physiological anomalies.
The aim of this Topic Collection is to bring together a set of reviews and research articles on the role of epigenetic regulation in plants during sexual and asexual reproduction, development, and evolution.
Dr. Vladimir Brukhin
Collection Editor
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Keywords
- epigenetics
- methylation
- RNA interference
- chromatin remodeling
- plant reproduction
- development
Published Papers (2 papers)
Open AccessReview
Epigenetic Modifications in Plant Development and Reproduction
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3634
Abstract
Plants are exposed to highly fluctuating effects of light, temperature, weather conditions, and many other environmental factors throughout their life. As sessile organisms, unlike animals, they are unable to escape, hide, or even change their position. Therefore, the growth and development of plants
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Plants are exposed to highly fluctuating effects of light, temperature, weather conditions, and many other environmental factors throughout their life. As sessile organisms, unlike animals, they are unable to escape, hide, or even change their position. Therefore, the growth and development of plants are largely determined by interaction with the external environment. The success of this interaction depends on the ability of the phenotype plasticity, which is largely determined by epigenetic regulation. In addition to how environmental factors can change the patterns of genes expression, epigenetic regulation determines how genetic expression changes during the differentiation of one cell type into another and how patterns of gene expression are passed from one cell to its descendants. Thus, one genome can generate many ‘epigenomes’. Epigenetic modifications acquire special significance during the formation of gametes and plant reproduction when epigenetic marks are eliminated during meiosis and early embryogenesis and later reappear. However, during asexual plant reproduction, when meiosis is absent or suspended, epigenetic modifications that have arisen in the parental sporophyte can be transmitted to the next clonal generation practically unchanged. In plants that reproduce sexually and asexually, epigenetic variability has different adaptive significance. In asexuals, epigenetic regulation is of particular importance for imparting plasticity to the phenotype when, apart from mutations, the genotype remains unchanged for many generations of individuals. Of particular interest is the question of the possibility of transferring acquired epigenetic memory to future generations and its potential role for natural selection and evolution. All these issues will be discussed to some extent in this review.
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Open AccessEditorial
Epigenetic Control in Plants
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