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Recent Advances in Epigenetics in Plant Research

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2025 | Viewed by 2276

Special Issue Editors

Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: plant genome; RNA methylation; multi-omics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Epigenetics plays a significant role in plant research and has revolutionized our understanding of how plants develop, respond to environmental cues, and evolve over time. Epigenetics refers to heritable changes in gene expression that do not involve alterations to the underlying DNA sequence. Researchers continue to uncover the intricate mechanisms underlying epigenetic regulation in plants, and this knowledge has the potential to enhance our ability to manipulate and manage plant species for agricultural. In this Special Issue, we welcome original research or review articles related to all aspect of epigenetics, including DNA methylation, RNA modification, histone modification, small RNAs, and environmental responses etc.

Prof. Dr. Hai Du
Dr. Zhe Liang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • plant
  • genomics
  • systematics

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3419 KiB  
Article
Epigenetic Regulation of Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Betula pendula ‘Purple Rain’
by Chenrui Gu, Huan Xu, Qihang Yuan, Jinbo Huang, Kunying Yuan, Yihan Zhao, Guifeng Liu, Qingzhu Zhang and Jing Jiang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(22), 12030; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252212030 - 8 Nov 2024
Viewed by 565
Abstract
Betula pendula ‘Purple Rain’ is characterized by its purple leaves and has ornamental applications. A green mutant line NL, which was mutated by line NZ of B. pendula ‘Purple Rain’ during tissue culture, shows green leaves instead of the typical purple color of [...] Read more.
Betula pendula ‘Purple Rain’ is characterized by its purple leaves and has ornamental applications. A green mutant line NL, which was mutated by line NZ of B. pendula ‘Purple Rain’ during tissue culture, shows green leaves instead of the typical purple color of B. pendula ‘Purple Rain’. This study quantified the leaf color traits of NL and a normal B. pendula ‘Purple Rain’ line NZ, and uncovered differentially expressed genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis pathway genes in NL through RNA-Seq analysis. Compared to NZ, reduced levels of six anthocyanins contained in NL were revealed via flavonoids-targeted metabolomics. Sequence mutations in transcription factors that could explain NL’s phenotype failed to be screened via whole-genome resequencing, suggesting an epigenetic basis for this variant. Therefore, a key gene, BpMYB113, was identified in NL via the combined analysis of small RNA sequencing, whole-genome methylation sequencing, and transcriptomics. In NL, this gene features a hyper CHH context methylation site and a lower transcription level compared to NZ, disrupting the expression of downstream genes in the phenylalanine metabolism pathway, and thereby reducing flavonoid biosynthesis. Our study elucidates an epigenetic mechanism underlying color variation in variegated trees, providing pivotal insights for the breeding and propagation of colored-leaf tree species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Epigenetics in Plant Research)
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26 pages, 6696 KiB  
Article
RNA-Seq Bulked Segregant Analysis of an Exotic B. napus ssp. napobrassica (Rutabaga) F2 Population Reveals Novel QTLs for Breeding Clubroot-Resistant Canola
by Zhiyu Yu, Rudolph Fredua-Agyeman, Stephen E. Strelkov and Sheau-Fang Hwang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(9), 4596; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25094596 - 23 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1274
Abstract
In this study, a rutabaga (Brassica napus ssp. napobrassica) donor parent FGRA106, which exhibited broad-spectrum resistance to 17 isolates representing 16 pathotypes of Plasmodiophora brassicae, was used in genetic crosses with the susceptible spring-type canola (B. napus ssp. napus [...] Read more.
In this study, a rutabaga (Brassica napus ssp. napobrassica) donor parent FGRA106, which exhibited broad-spectrum resistance to 17 isolates representing 16 pathotypes of Plasmodiophora brassicae, was used in genetic crosses with the susceptible spring-type canola (B. napus ssp. napus) accession FG769. The F2 plants derived from a clubroot-resistant F1 plant were screened against three P. brassicae isolates representing pathotypes 3A, 3D, and 3H. Chi-square (χ2) goodness-of-fit tests indicated that the F2 plants inherited two major clubroot resistance genes from the CR donor FGRA106. The total RNA from plants resistant (R) and susceptible (S) to each pathotype were pooled and subjected to bulked segregant RNA-sequencing (BSR-Seq). The analysis of gene expression profiles identified 431, 67, and 98 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the R and S bulks. The variant calling method indicated a total of 12 (7 major + 5 minor) QTLs across seven chromosomes. The seven major QTLs included: BnaA5P3A.CRX1.1, BnaC1P3H.CRX1.2, and BnaC7P3A.CRX1.1 on chromosomes A05, C01, and C07, respectively; and BnaA8P3D.CRX1.1, BnaA8P3D.RCr91.2/BnaA8P3H.RCr91.2, BnaA8P3H.Crr11.3/BnaA8P3D.Crr11.3, and BnaA8P3D.qBrCR381.4 on chromosome A08. A total of 16 of the DEGs were located in the major QTL regions, 13 of which were on chromosome C07. The molecular data suggested that clubroot resistance in FGRA106 may be controlled by major and minor genes on both the A and C genomes, which are deployed in different combinations to confer resistance to the different isolates. This study provides valuable germplasm for the breeding of clubroot-resistant B. napus cultivars in Western Canada. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Epigenetics in Plant Research)
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