Fasani Elisa, Giannelli Gianluigi, Varotto Serena, Visioli Giovanna, Bellin Diana, Furini Antonella, DalCorso Giovanni
Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy.
Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, 43124 Parma, Italy.
Plants (Basel). 2023 Sep 7;12(18):3195. doi: 10.3390/plants12183195.
Plants are sessile organisms that must adapt to environmental conditions, such as soil characteristics, by adjusting their development during their entire life cycle. In case of low-distance seed dispersal, the new generations are challenged with the same abiotic stress encountered by the parents. Epigenetic modification is an effective option that allows plants to face an environmental constraint and to share the same adaptative strategy with their progeny through transgenerational inheritance. This is the topic of the presented review that reports the scientific progress, up to date, gained in unravelling the epigenetic response of plants to soil contamination by heavy metals and metalloids, collectively known as potentially toxic elements. The effect of the microbial community inhabiting the rhizosphere is also considered, as the evidence of a transgenerational transfer of the epigenetic status that contributes to the activation in plants of response mechanisms to soil pollution.
植物是固着生物，必须在其整个生命周期中通过调整自身发育来适应环境条件，如土壤特性。在近距离种子传播的情况下，新一代面临着与亲本相同的非生物胁迫。表观遗传修饰是一种有效的方式，使植物能够应对环境限制，并通过跨代遗传与后代共享相同的适应策略。这就是本综述的主题，该综述报告了迄今为止在揭示植物对重金属和类金属（统称为潜在有毒元素）土壤污染的表观遗传反应方面取得的科学进展。还考虑了根际微生物群落的影响，因为有证据表明表观遗传状态的跨代转移有助于激活植物对土壤污染的反应机制。
