Nie Wen-Feng
Department of Horticulture, College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China.
Biochem Soc Trans. 2021 Jun 30;49(3):1479-1487. doi: 10.1042/BST20210353.
As a subgroup of horticultural crops, vegetable food is a kind of indispensable energy source for human beings, providing necessary nutritional components including vitamins, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, and active substances such as carotenoids and flavonoids. The developmental process of vegetable crops is not only regulated by environmental stimulations, but also manipulated by both genetic and epigenetic modifications. Epigenetic modifications are composed by several regulatory mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modification, chromatin remodeling, and non-coding RNAs. Among these modifications, DNA methylation functions in multiple biological pathways ranging from fundamental development to environmental stimulations by mediating transcriptomic alterations, resulting in the activation or silencing of target genes. In recent years, intensive studies have revealed that DNA methylation is essential to fruit development and ripening, indicating that the epigenome of fruit crops could be dynamically modified according to the specific requirements in the commercial production. Firstly, this review will present the mechanisms of DNA methylation, and update the understanding on active DNA demethylation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Secondly, this review will summarize the recent progress on the function of DNA methylation in regulating fruit ripening. Moreover, the possible functions of DNA methylation on controlling the expansion of edible organs, senescence of leafy vegetables, and anthocyanin pigmentation in several important vegetable crops will be discussed. Finally, this review will highlight the intractable issues that need to be resolved in the application of epigenome in vegetable crops, and provide perspectives for the potential challenges in the further studies.
作为园艺作物的一个亚类，蔬菜食品是人类不可或缺的能量来源，提供包括维生素、碳水化合物、膳食纤维以及类胡萝卜素和黄酮类等活性物质在内的必要营养成分。蔬菜作物的发育过程不仅受环境刺激的调控，还受遗传和表观遗传修饰的影响。表观遗传修饰由多种调控机制组成，包括DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰、染色质重塑和非编码RNA。在这些修饰中，DNA甲基化通过介导转录组改变在从基础发育到环境刺激的多种生物学途径中发挥作用，导致靶基因的激活或沉默。近年来，深入研究表明DNA甲基化对果实发育和成熟至关重要，这表明果树作物的表观基因组可根据商业生产中的特定需求进行动态修饰。首先，本综述将介绍DNA甲基化的机制，并更新对拟南芥中活性DNA去甲基化的认识。其次，本综述将总结DNA甲基化在调控果实成熟功能方面的最新进展。此外，还将讨论DNA甲基化在控制几种重要蔬菜作物可食用器官膨大、叶菜衰老和花青素色素沉着方面的可能功能。最后，本综述将突出表观基因组在蔬菜作物应用中需要解决的棘手问题，并为进一步研究中的潜在挑战提供展望。
