Building resilience by cultivating difference: A role for noise in development

Area of Science:

• Plant biology
• Genetics
• Developmental biology

Background:

• Cells in identical environments show variations in gene expression, a phenomenon known as noise.
• Historically, the functional significance of this noise has been debated.
• Recent studies highlight noise's role in plant cell fate decisions, organogenesis, and adaptation to environmental changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review how plants manage transcriptional noise.
• To discuss the implications of cell-to-cell heterogeneity in gene expression for plant development and robustness.
• To explore gene expression variability as a potential engineering target for agriculture.

Main Methods:

• This review synthesizes recent findings from various studies on gene expression noise in plants.
• It discusses mechanisms of noise buffering and amplification.
• It examines the downstream effects of cellular heterogeneity on developmental outcomes.

Main Results:

• Transcriptional noise is not merely random variation but a functional element in plants.
• Noise influences cell fate decisions and organogenesis.
• Cell-to-cell heterogeneity impacts developmental robustness and adaptability.

Conclusions:

• Plants actively manage transcriptional noise, either buffering or amplifying it.
• Understanding and potentially engineering gene expression variability offers a path toward developing more resilient crops.
• This approach is increasingly important given climate change pressures on agriculture.