Plant epigenetics and crop improvement

Abstract

Developmental cues an0d environmental signals remodel the chromatin structure, thus affecting various processes, including fl owering time, imprinting, fl oral development, and biotic and abiotic stress responses in plants. Chromatin remodeling through histone tail post-translational modifi cations, DNA methylation, and ATP- dependent nucleosome reorganization represents a ubiquitous mechanism to regulate gene expression. Most of the epigenetic and epigenomic studies for the regulation of gene expression in response to developmental and environmental stimuli have been carried out in Arabidopsis. Although genetic modifi cations have been used for crop improvement, however, the epigenetic modifi cations are at their beginning. In this chapter, we summarize the roles of chromatin-remodeling mechanisms in response to environmental stimuli and discuss their potential for crop improvement.