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Updated: Oct 18, 2025

Laser-Capture Microdissection RNA-Sequencing for Spatial and Temporal Tissue-Specific Gene Expression Analysis in Plants
Published on: August 5, 2020
Phase separation of chromatin and small RNA pathways in plants
Zhen Lei1,2, Ling Wang1,2, Eun Yu Kim1
1National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences (CEMPS), Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China.
Abstract:
Gene expression can be modulated by epigenetic mechanisms, including chromatin modifications and small regulatory RNAs. These pathways are unevenly distributed within a cell and usually take place in specific intracellular regions. Unfortunately, the fundamental driving force and biological relevance of such spatial differentiation is largely unknown. Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is a natural propensity of demixing liquid phases and has been recently suggested to mediate the formation of biomolecular condensates that are relevant to diverse cellular processes. LLPS provides a mechanistic explanation for the self-assembly of subcellular structures by which the efficiency and specificity of certain cellular reactions are achieved. In plants, LLPS has been observed for several key factors in the chromatin and small RNA pathways. For example, the formation of facultative and obligate heterochromatin involves the LLPS of multiple relevant factors. In addition, phase separation is observed in a set of proteins acting in microRNA biogenesis and the small interfering RNA pathway. In this Focused Review, we highlight and discuss the recent findings regarding phase separation in the epigenetic mechanisms of plants.
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