Tresas Theodoros, Isaioglou Ioannis, Roussis Andreas, Haralampidis Kosmas
Section of Botany, Biology Department, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15772 Athens, Greece.
Bioscience Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 May 14;26(10):4700. doi: 10.3390/ijms26104700.
Plants continuously adapt to their environments by responding to various intrinsic and extrinsic signals. They face numerous biotic and abiotic stresses such as extreme temperatures, drought, or pathogens, requiring complex regulatory mechanisms to control gene activity and adapt their proteome for survival. Epigenetic regulation plays a crucial role in these adaptations, potentially leading to both heritable and non-heritable changes across generations. This process enables plants to adjust their gene expression profiles and acclimate effectively. It is also vital for plant development and productivity, affecting growth, yield, and seed quality, and enabling plants to "remember" environmental stimuli and adapt accordingly. Key epigenetic mechanisms that play significant roles include DNA methylation, histone modification, and ubiquitin ligase complex activity. These processes, which have been extensively studied in the last two decades, have led to a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and expanded the potential for improving agriculturally and economically important plant traits. DNA methylation is a fundamental process that regulates gene expression by altering chromatin structure. The addition of methyl groups to cytosines by DNA methylases leads to gene suppression, whereas DNA demethylases reverse this effect. Histone modifications, on the other hand, collectively referred to as the "histone code", influence chromatin structure and gene activity by promoting either gene transcription or gene silencing. These modifications are either recognized, added, or removed by a variety of enzymes that act practically as an environmental memory, having a significant impact on plant development and the responses of plants to environmental stimuli. Finally, ubiquitin ligase complexes, which tag specific histones or regulatory proteins with ubiquitin, are also crucial in plant epigenetic regulation. These complexes are involved in protein degradation and play important roles in regulating various cellular activities. The intricate interplay between DNA methylation, histone modifications, and ubiquitin ligases adds complexity to our understanding of epigenetic regulation. These mechanisms collectively control gene expression, generating a complex and branching network of interdependent regulatory pathways. A deeper understanding of this complex network that helps plants adapt to environmental changes and stressful conditions will provide valuable insights into the regulatory mechanisms involved. This knowledge could pave the way for new biotechnological approaches and plant breeding strategies aimed at enhancing crop resilience, productivity, and sustainable agriculture.
植物通过对各种内在和外在信号做出反应，不断适应其环境。它们面临着众多生物和非生物胁迫，如极端温度、干旱或病原体，这需要复杂的调控机制来控制基因活性，并调整其蛋白质组以实现生存。表观遗传调控在这些适应过程中起着关键作用，可能导致跨代的可遗传和不可遗传变化。这一过程使植物能够调整其基因表达谱并有效适应环境。它对植物发育和生产力也至关重要，影响生长、产量和种子质量，并使植物能够“记住”环境刺激并相应地进行适应。发挥重要作用的关键表观遗传机制包括DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰和泛素连接酶复合体活性。在过去二十年中对这些过程进行了广泛研究，这有助于更好地理解其潜在机制，并扩大了改善农业和经济上重要植物性状的潜力。DNA甲基化是通过改变染色质结构来调节基因表达的基本过程。DNA甲基转移酶将甲基基团添加到胞嘧啶上会导致基因抑制，而DNA去甲基化酶则会逆转这种效应。另一方面，组蛋白修饰统称为“组蛋白密码”，通过促进基因转录或基因沉默来影响染色质结构和基因活性。这些修饰由各种酶识别、添加或去除，这些酶实际上起着环境记忆的作用，对植物发育和植物对环境刺激的反应有重大影响。最后，泛素连接酶复合体用泛素标记特定组蛋白或调节蛋白，在植物表观遗传调控中也至关重要。这些复合体参与蛋白质降解，并在调节各种细胞活动中发挥重要作用。DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰和泛素连接酶之间复杂的相互作用增加了我们对表观遗传调控理解的复杂性。这些机制共同控制基因表达，形成一个复杂且相互依存的调控途径分支网络。深入了解这个帮助植物适应环境变化和压力条件的复杂网络，将为所涉及的调控机制提供有价值的见解。这些知识可为旨在提高作物抗逆性、生产力和可持续农业的新生物技术方法和植物育种策略铺平道路。
