A comprehensive review on epigenetic mechanisms and application of epigenetic modifications for crop improvement

• Published in: Environmental and experimental botany Vol. 188; p. 104479
• Main Authors: Samantara, Kajal, Shiv, Aalok, de Sousa, Lorenna Lopes, Sandhu, Karansher Singh, Priyadarshini, Parichita, Mohapatra, Sourav Ranjan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.08.2021
• Subjects: Crop improvement; DNA methylation; Epigenetics; Histone modification; RNA directed DNA methylation; Epigenetics; DNA methylation; Histone modification; Crop improvement; RNA directed DNA methylation
• ISSN: 0098-8472; 1873-7307
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envexpbot.2021.104479

•DNA methylation, histone modification, and RNA directed DNA Methylation (RdDM) are the key epigenetics mechanisms in plants.•Epigenetic modifications help the crop plants to tolerate various biotic and abiotic stresses.•Agronomic and quality traits could be improved significantly using epigenetics in crop plants. Erosion of genetic diversity due to excessive breeding applications is a major threat to crop species. Plants should be genetically diverse to cope with repercussions of changing climate. Of late, diversity made available through epigenetic changes now appearing to be a novel source for crop improvement. Epigenetics is a phenomenon that alters heritable gene expression without implicating any variation in the genomic DNA sequences. The mechanism of epigenetics involves three important events viz., DNA methylation, histone post-translational modifications and RNA directed DNA methylation. These epigenetic modifications involve creation of memory marks which help plants to survive various stresses through physiological regulation based on their epigenetic history. Here, we represent a comprehensive review on the understanding of epigenetic mechanisms that contributes to plant responses towards several biotic and abiotic stresses. Moreover, we have also detailed about various epigenetic approaches that has improved several desirable agronomic traits. Hence, epigenetics is a potential research area that can be exploited for development of climate smart crop.