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PMID: 21233005 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. Review

Epigenetic modifications in plants: an evolutionary perspective.

Current opinion in plant biology ·Vol. 14 ·No. 2 ·2011-04-00 ·Pages 179-86

Feng S, Jacobsen SE

Abstract

Plant genomes are modified by an array of epigenetic marks that help regulate plant growth and reproduction. Although plants share many epigenetic features with animals and fungi, some epigenetic marks are unique to plants. In different organisms, the same epigenetic mark can play different roles and/or similar functions can be carried out by different epigenetic marks. Furthermore, while the enzymatic systems responsible for generating or eliminating epigenetic marks are often conserved, there are also cases where they are quite divergent between plants and other organisms. DNA methylation and methylation of histone tails on the lysine 4, 9, and 27 positions are among the best characterized epigenetic marks in both plants and animals. Recent studies have greatly enhanced our knowledge about the pattern of these marks in various genomes and provided insights into how they are established and maintained and how they function. This review focuses on the conservation and divergence of the pathways that mediate these four types of epigenetic marks.

MeSH Terms
Biological Evolution DNA Methylation Epigenesis, Genetic Genome, Plant Histones/chemistry,metabolism Lysine/metabolism Magnoliopsida/genetics,metabolism
Chemicals
Histones Lysine
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Feng Suhua
Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Jacobsen Steven E
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Article Info
Journal
Current opinion in plant biology
Abbr.
Curr Opin Plant Biol
ISSN
1879-0356
DOI
10.1016/j.pbi.2010.12.002
Published
2011-04-00
Epub
2011-00-11
Pages
179-86
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
100883395
PMCID
PMC3097131
Subset
IM
Grants
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM060398 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R37 GM060398 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · GM60398 · United States
Howard Hughes Medical Institute · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2010.12.002 PMC Full Text View journal details
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