Epigenetic Modifications Associated with Temperature Stresses

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 3577

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Dear Colleagues,

Epigenetics refers to the heritable alterations in gene expression that may lead to a variation in the phenotype without a change in the DNA sequence. Molecular events in epigenetics take place naturally in cells but are also affected by environmental conditions, such as heat, cold, drought, and pathogen infections. In particular, heat and cold greatly affect plant growth and development. Research in recent years has revealed that epigenetic modification plays a key role in plants’ response to temperature stress.

This Special Issue focuses on recent progress in the epigenetic control of temperature responses, including cold and heat responses in plants. Further research perspectives will also be discussed. We invite you to submit an original scientific report, a review article, or a commentary or perspective piece on this topic.

Prof. Tamas Dalmay
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • epigenetics
  • DNA methylation
  • histone modification
  • chromatin remodeling
  • temperature
  • heat stress
  • cold stress
  • small non-coding RNA
  • transgenerational memory
  • polycomb

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 1338 KiB  
Article
Phenotypic Responses, Reproduction Mode and Epigenetic Patterns under Temperature Treatments in the Alpine Plant Species Ranunculus kuepferi (Ranunculaceae)
by Eleni Syngelaki, Mareike Daubert, Simone Klatt and Elvira Hörandl
Biology 2020, 9(10), 315; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology9100315 - 29 Sep 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3091
Abstract
Plant life in alpine habitats is shaped by harsh abiotic conditions and cold climates. Phenotypic variation of morphological characters and reproduction can be influenced by temperature stress. Nevertheless, little is known about the performance of different cytotypes under cold stress and how epigenetic [...] Read more.
Plant life in alpine habitats is shaped by harsh abiotic conditions and cold climates. Phenotypic variation of morphological characters and reproduction can be influenced by temperature stress. Nevertheless, little is known about the performance of different cytotypes under cold stress and how epigenetic patterns could relate to phenotypic variation. Ranunculus kuepferi, a perennial alpine plant, served as a model system for testing the effect of cold stress on phenotypic plasticity, reproduction mode, and epigenetic variation. Diploid and autotetraploid individuals were placed in climate growth cabinets under warm and cold conditions. Morphological traits (height, leaves and flowers) and the proportion of well-developed seeds were measured as fitness indicators, while flow cytometric seed screening (FCSS) was utilized to determine the reproduction mode. Subsequently, comparisons with patterns of methylation-sensitive amplified fragment-length polymorphisms (AFLPs) were conducted. Diploids grew better under warm conditions, while tetraploids performed better in cold treatments. Epigenetic patterns were correlated with the expressed morphological traits. Cold stress reduced the reproduction fitness but did not induce apomixis in diploids. Overall, our study underlines the potential of phenotypic plasticity for acclimation under environmental conditions and confirms the different niche preferences of cytotypes in natural populations. Results help to understand the pattern of geographical parthenogenesis in the species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epigenetic Modifications Associated with Temperature Stresses)
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