Tag: Epigenetics

Epigenetic reprogramming, such as DNA methylation changes, has emerged as a crucial regulator of plant defense responses. Homeostasis of DNA methylation is controlled by a balance between methylation and demethylation. ROS1 (Repressor Of Silencing 1) is an Arabidopsis demethylases that is known to…

Arabidopsis seeds consist of various tissue like seed coat, embryo, and endosperm. The endosperm provides the nutrient supplies to the growing embryo and has three domains namely, micropylar (surrounding embryo), chalazal (opposite end of the seed), and peripheral (in between micropylar and chalazal)…

Transposable Elements (TEs) are mobile genetic elements and major constituents of eukaryotic chromosomes. TEs promote genetic and epigenetic variation within genomes and are a major source of evolutionary novelty and adaptation (Lisch, 2013). In plants, TEs represent from 20% of the genomic content in…

In Arabidopsis, multiple genetic pathways control the floral transition in response to external and internal stimuli. Among these, components of the autonomous pathway promote flowering by negatively regulating the central floral repressor FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC). Despite the wealth of information on…

The time at which flowers appear is critical for plant reproductive success. As such, the vegetative to reproductive growth transition is governed by several cues: environmental (photoperiod, temperature) and endogenous (gibberellins, age). Here, Sang et al. used an elegant forward-genetics approach…

Plants activate autophagy, a cellular recycling process, to recycle useful nutrients or remove harmful items, helping them to withstand harsh conditions. Recently, Yang et al. found that HY5 is a hub connecting the light signaling and autophagy pathways. Under replete conditions (e.g., light and nitrogen-sufficient),…

The well-known success of the green-revolution was accomplished through the development of semi-dwarf grasses (rice and wheat), which led to decreased losses to lodging and higher yields; however, the benefits of these improved varieties depends on the application of nitrogen-rich fertilizer. As N-rich…

It was shown that the Arabidopsis intergenic long noncoding RNA (LncRNA) APOLO (AUXIN-REGULATED PROMOTER LOOP) modulates in cis its neighbor gene PID forming a chromatin loop. However, it remained unknown whether it can act also in trans modulating the expression of other genes. Now, Ariel et…