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Published on: June 12, 2018
Epigenetic dynamics during sexual reproduction: At the nexus of developmental control and genomic integrity
Louis Tirot1, Pauline E Jullien1
1Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Epigenetic marks influence gene regulation and genomic stability via the repression of transposable elements. During sexual reproduction, tight regulation of the epigenome must take place to maintain the repression of transposable elements while still allowing changes in cell-specific transcriptional programs. In plants, epigenetic marks are reorganized during reproduction and a reinforcing mechanism takes place to ensure transposable elements silencing. In this review, we describe the latest advances in characterizing the cell-specific epigenetic changes occurring from sporogenesis to seed development, with a focus on DNA methylation. We highlight the epigenetic co-regulation between transposable elements and developmental genes at different stages of plant reproduction.
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