Plants, due to their sessile life style, need to cope with environmental stresses that lead to the induction of a broad range of adaptive responses allowing proper growth and development. Genetic information, in association with histones, is packaged into chromatin. Several parameters, such as post-translational modifications (i.e. histones methylation, acetylation) and DNA methylation (5-methyl Cytosine) strongly influence chromatin shape. It has been well established that biotic and abiotic stresses trigger changes in chromatin structure, allowing modification of transcriptional programs and modulation of genome shape. It is assumed that chromatin compaction and therefore its accessibility to various factors (i.e. transcription factors, enzymes) regulate transcriptional activity and also DNA repair efficiency. Chromatin remodelers, histone readers/modifiers, DNA methylases/demethylases are among the predominant factors that contribute to genome and epigenome dynamics.
Upon environmental stress exposure and induction of the appropriate molecular response(s), genome and epigenome organization must be restored. In other words, chromatin shape/architecture has to be reestablished allowing accuracy in the regulation of transcription and also in genome 3D organization. Indeed, expression of protein coding genes must be reset-and mobilization of transposable elements (TE) must be fine-tuned to prevent dramatic changes in developmental programs and in genome structure, respectively. Moreover, most of the DNA repair pathways used to repair environmentally-induced DNA damage are DNA synthesis-dependent repair processes (i.e. excision repair pathways, homologous recombination). Thus, in addition to the need of accuracy during DNA synthesis to maintain genetic information integrity, the epigenomic landscape should also be efficiently and accurately restored. Altogether, more and more studies are providing accumulating evidence that pathways involved in the maintenance of genome and epigenome integrity have to be tightly coordinated.
In line with these observations, this Research Topic proposes to focus on genome and epigenome surveillance processes that are mobilized under environmental stresses. We welcome Original Research, Review and Perspective articles on, but not limited to, the following aspects in response to abiotic stress conditions:
- Epigenetic integrity during DNA damage, DNA repair and DNA replication
- DNA repair in the context of different chromatin landscapes
- Chromatin dynamics in responses to environmental stresses
- Epigenetic mechanisms of telomere homeostasis
- Epigenetic mechanisms regulating constitutive heterochromatin
- Transposon activation upon environmental stresses exposure
- DNA damage and repair upon environmental stresses exposure
This Research Topic aims to collect contributions to
EpiPlant 2019, the
Plant Epigenetics Meeting, held in Strasbourg, France, on 6th-8th February 2019. We also welcome external submissions to cover exciting new discoveries in the field.
