Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER SIX
Epigenetics and Development in
Plants: Green Light to Convergent
Innovations
,1
, François Roudier
†
,1
*
Institut de Recherche pour le D´veloppement, UMR 232, Universit´ de Montpellier II, Montpellier, France
†
Daniel Grimanelli
*
Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Sup´rieure, CNRS-UMR 8197/INSERM U1024, Paris, France
1
Corresponding authors: e-mail address: daniel.grimanelli@ird.fr; roudier@biologie.ens.fr
Contents
1.
Introduction
190
2. Plant Epigenomes: Components and Organization
190
2.1 Chromatin components
191
2.2 Epigenome organization in plants
194
3. Chromatin-Based Processes During Vegetative Development
196
3.1 Aligning developmental transitions with seasonal changes of the environment
196
3.2 License to flower
197
3.3 Time to bloom
201
3.4 Emerging regulatory principles coming in from the cold and more
202
4. The Central Role of Epigenetics in Plant Reproductive Development
203
4.1 Chromatin changes at the core of reproductive development transitions
205
4.2 DNA methylation and small RNAs determine parental imprinting in the seed
207
4.3 Epigenetic reprogramming in germ cells
208
4.4 Reproduction without sex
210
5. Transgenerational Inheritance of Epigenetic Variation
211
6. Concluding Remarks and Future Outlook
212
Acknowledgments
213
References
214
Abstract
Plants are sessile organisms that must constantly adjust to their environment. In contrast to
animals, plant development mainly occurs postembryonically and is characterized by con-
tinuous growth and extensive phenotypic plasticity. Chromatin-level regulation of tran-
scriptional patterns plays a central role in the ability of plants to adapt to internal and
external cues. Here, we review selected examples of chromatin-based mechanisms
involved in the regulationof key aspects of plant development. These illustrate that, inaddi-
tion tomechanisms conservedbetweenplants andanimals, plant-specific innovations lead
to particular chromatin dynamics related to their developmental and life strategies.
