scholarly journals Epigenetic Responses to Temperature and Climate

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 1469-1480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beth A McCaw ◽  
Tyler J Stevenson ◽  
Lesley T Lancaster
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Change ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Environmental Temperature ◽  
Environmental Control ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Thermal Adaptation ◽  
Epigenetic Inheritance ◽  
Epigenetic Modifications ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change

Synopsis Epigenetics represents a widely accepted set of mechanisms by which organisms respond to the environment by regulating phenotypic plasticity and life history transitions. Understanding the effects of environmental control on phenotypes and fitness, via epigenetic mechanisms, is essential for understanding the ability of organisms to rapidly adapt to environmental change. This review highlights the significance of environmental temperature on epigenetic control of phenotypic variation, with the aim of furthering our understanding of how epigenetics might help or hinder species’ adaptation to climate change. It outlines how epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation and histone/chromatin modification, (1) respond to temperature and regulate thermal stress responses in different kingdoms of life, (2) regulate temperature-dependent expression of key developmental processes, sex determination, and seasonal phenotypes, (3) facilitate transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of thermal adaptation, (4) adapt populations to local and global climate gradients, and finally (5) facilitate in biological invasions across climate regions. Although the evidence points towards a conserved role of epigenetics in responding to temperature change, there appears to be an element of temperature- and species-specificity in the specific effects of temperature change on epigenetic modifications and resulting phenotypic responses. The review identifies areas of future research in epigenetic responses to environmental temperature change.

scholarly journals Do Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance and Immune System Development Share Common Epigenetic Processes?

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Rwik Sen ◽  
Christopher Barnes
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Immune System ◽  
System Development ◽  
Epigenetic Inheritance ◽  
Epigenetic Modifications ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance ◽  
Immune System Development ◽  
And Function

Epigenetic modifications regulate gene expression for development, immune response, disease, and other processes. A major role of epigenetics is to control the dynamics of chromatin structure, i.e., the condensed packaging of DNA around histone proteins in eukaryotic nuclei. Key epigenetic factors include enzymes for histone modifications and DNA methylation, non-coding RNAs, and prions. Epigenetic modifications are heritable but during embryonic development, most parental epigenetic marks are erased and reset. Interestingly, some epigenetic modifications, that may be resulting from immune response to stimuli, can escape remodeling and transmit to subsequent generations who are not exposed to those stimuli. This phenomenon is called transgenerational epigenetic inheritance if the epigenetic phenotype persists beyond the third generation in female germlines and second generation in male germlines. Although its primary function is likely immune response for survival, its role in the development and functioning of the immune system is not extensively explored, despite studies reporting transgenerational inheritance of stress-induced epigenetic modifications resulting in immune disorders. Hence, this review draws from studies on transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, immune system development and function, high-throughput epigenetics tools to study those phenomena, and relevant clinical trials, to focus on their significance and deeper understanding for future research, therapeutic developments, and various applications.

Marine Environmental Epigenetics

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 335-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose M. Eirin-Lopez ◽  
Hollie M. Putnam
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Epigenetic Inheritance ◽  
Environmental Stressors ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Environmental Epigenetics ◽  
Epigenetic Effects ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Marine Environmental

Marine organisms’ persistence hinges on the capacity for acclimatization and adaptation to the myriad of interacting environmental stressors associated with global climate change. In this context, epigenetics—mechanisms that facilitate phenotypic variation through genotype–environment interactions—are of great interest ecologically and evolutionarily. Our comprehensive review of marine environmental epigenetics guides our recommendations of four key areas for future research: the dynamics of wash-in and wash-out of epigenetic effects, the mechanistic understanding of the interplay of different epigenetic marks and the interaction with the microbiome, the capacity for and mechanisms of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, and the evolutionary implications of the interaction of genetic and epigenetic features. Emerging insights in marine environmental epigenetics can be applied to critical issues such as aquaculture, biomonitoring, and biological invasions, thereby improving our ability to explain and predict the responses of marine taxa to global climate change.

scholarly journals Small DNA Methylation, Big Player in Plant Abiotic Stress Responses and Memory

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junzhong Liu ◽  
Zuhua He
Keyword(s):  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Abiotic Stress ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Abiotic Stresses ◽  
Genome Stability ◽  
Plant Stress ◽  
Epigenetic Inheritance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Epigenetic Mark ◽  
Plant Responses

DNA methylation is a conserved epigenetic mark that plays important roles in maintaining genome stability and regulating gene expression. As sessile organisms, plants have evolved sophisticated regulatory systems to endure or respond to diverse adverse abiotic environmental challenges, i.e., abiotic stresses, such as extreme temperatures (cold and heat), drought and salinity. Plant stress responses are often accompanied by changes in chromatin modifications at diverse responsive loci, such as 5-methylcytosine (5mC) and N6-methyladenine (6mA) DNA methylation. Some abiotic stress responses are memorized for several hours or days through mitotic cell divisions and quickly reset to baseline levels after normal conditions are restored, which is referred to as somatic memory. In some cases, stress-induced chromatin marks are meiotically heritable and can impart the memory of stress exposure from parent plants to at least the next stress-free offspring generation through the mechanisms of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, which may offer the descendants the potential to be adaptive for better fitness. In this review, we briefly summarize recent achievements regarding the establishment, maintenance and reset of DNA methylation, and highlight the diverse roles of DNA methylation in plant responses to abiotic stresses. Further, we discuss the potential role of DNA methylation in abiotic stress-induced somatic memory and transgenerational inheritance. Future research directions are proposed to develop stress-tolerant engineered crops to reduce the negative effects of abiotic stresses.

scholarly journals Mitochondrial redox systems as central hubs in plant metabolism and signalling

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Van Aken
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Plant Mitochondria ◽  
Nuclear Gene ◽  
Tca Cycle ◽  
Cellular Damage ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Antioxidant Systems ◽  
Plant Metabolism ◽  
Redox Systems ◽  
Glutathione Cycle

Abstract Plant mitochondria are indispensable for plant metabolism and are tightly integrated into cellular homeostasis. This review provides an update on the latest research concerning the organisation and operation of plant mitochondrial redox systems, and how they affect cellular metabolism and signalling, plant development and stress responses. New insights into the organisation and operation of mitochondrial energy systems such as the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and mitochondrial electron chain (mtETC) are discussed. The mtETC produces reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, which can act as signals or lead to cellular damage, and are thus efficiently removed by mitochondrial antioxidant systems, including Mn-superoxide dismutase, ascorbate-glutathione cycle and thioredoxin-dependent peroxidases. Plant mitochondria are tightly connected with photosynthesis, photorespiration and cytosolic metabolism, thereby providing redox-balancing. Mitochondrial proteins are targets of extensive post-translational modifications, but their functional significance and how they are added or removed remains unclear. To operate in sync with the whole cell, mitochondria can communicate their functional status via mitochondrial retrograde signalling to change nuclear gene expression, and several recent breakthroughs here are discussed. At a whole organism level, plant mitochondria thus play crucial roles from the first minutes after seed imbibition, supporting meristem activity, growth and fertility, until senescence of darkened and aged tissue. Finally, plant mitochondria are tightly integrated with cellular and organismal responses to environmental challenges such as drought, salinity, heat and submergence, but also threats posed by pathogens. Both the major recent advances and outstanding questions are reviewed, which may help future research efforts on plant mitochondria.

scholarly journals Can neuroscience help to understand narcissism? A systematic review of an emerging field

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuel Jauk ◽  
Philipp Kanske
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Interpersonal Functioning ◽  
Integrative Model ◽  
Experimental Investigations ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Pathological Narcissism ◽  
Ego Threat ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
And Behavior

Abstract Narcissism is a Janusian personality construct, associated with both grandiose self-assuredness and dominance, as well as vulnerable insecurity and reactivity. Central questions of intra- and interpersonal functioning in narcissism are still a matter of debate. Neuroscience could help to understand the paradoxical patterns of experience and behavior beyond the limitations of self-reports. We provide a systematic review of 34 neuroscience studies on grandiose, vulnerable, pathological narcissism, and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), spanning experimental investigations of intra- and interpersonal mechanisms, research on neurophysiological and neuroendocrine aspects of baseline function, and brain structural correlates. While neuroscience has scarcely directly studied vulnerable narcissism, grandiose narcissism is associated with heightened vigilance to ego threat and stress responses following ego threat, as well as heightened stress indicators in baseline measures. Such responses are not commonly observed in self-reports, highlighting the potential of neuroscience to augment our understanding of self-regulatory dynamics in narcissism. Interpersonal functioning is characterized by deficits in social–affective processes. Both involve altered activity within the salience network, pointing to a double dissociation regarding the expression of narcissism and self/other oriented situational focus. Findings are summarized in an integrative model providing testable hypotheses for future research along with methodological recommendations.

scholarly journals Crosstalk between endoplasmic reticulum stress and oxidative stress: a dynamic duo in multiple myeloma

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sinan Xiong ◽  
Wee-Joo Chng ◽  
Jianbiao Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Multiple Myeloma ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Er Stress ◽  
Cell Fate ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Plasma Cells ◽  
Reactive Oxygen Species Generation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
And Oxidative Stress

AbstractUnder physiological and pathological conditions, cells activate the unfolded protein response (UPR) to deal with the accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum. Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological malignancy arising from immunoglobulin-secreting plasma cells. MM cells are subject to continual ER stress and highly dependent on the UPR signaling activation due to overproduction of paraproteins. Mounting evidence suggests the close linkage between ER stress and oxidative stress, demonstrated by overlapping signaling pathways and inter-organelle communication pivotal to cell fate decision. Imbalance of intracellular homeostasis can lead to deranged control of cellular functions and engage apoptosis due to mutual activation between ER stress and reactive oxygen species generation through a self-perpetuating cycle. Here, we present accumulating evidence showing the interactive roles of redox homeostasis and proteostasis in MM pathogenesis and drug resistance, which would be helpful in elucidating the still underdefined molecular pathways linking ER stress and oxidative stress in MM. Lastly, we highlight future research directions in the development of anti-myeloma therapy, focusing particularly on targeting redox signaling and ER stress responses.

scholarly journals Epigenetic memory effects in forest trees: a victory of “Michurinian biology”?

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 173-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dušan Gömöry ◽  
Matúš Hrivnák ◽  
Diana Krajmerová ◽  
Roman Longauer
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Cytosine Methylation ◽  
Epigenetic Inheritance ◽  
Memory Effects ◽  
Forest Trees ◽  
Small Interfering Rnas ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Growth Environment ◽  
Micro Rnas ◽  
Covalent Modifications

AbstractThe study reviews trait inheritance, which is in contradiction with the rules of Mendelian genetics, and which was object of controversies among biologists (sometimes with grave political consequences) in the USSR and Sovietcontrolled countries in the 1930s-1960s. “Carryover” or “memory” effects of the climate, to which maternal trees are exposed during seed development, on phenological behavior and other adaptively relevant traits of their offspring in conifers are mentioned; similar effects are associated with the germination and early growth environment. Molecular mechanisms underlying these effects include covalent modifications of DNA or DNA-associated proteins (cytosine methylation, various types of histone modifications), micro-RNAs and small interfering RNAs. Tools for the identification of these modifications are reviewed with a focus on cytosine methylation, along with an overview of the hitherto knowledge on the occurrence of DNA modifications in forest trees. The practical implications of epigenetic inheritance in forest trees are discussed with the focus on the adaptation to climate change and legislation on forest reproductive materials.

scholarly journals Global Potato Yields Increase Under Climate Change With Adaptation and CO2 Fertilisation

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stewart A. Jennings ◽  
Ann-Kristin Koehler ◽  
Kathryn J. Nicklin ◽  
Chetan Deva ◽  
Steven M. Sait ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Global Climate Models ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
National Scale ◽  
Modeling Studies ◽  
Potato Yields

The contribution of potatoes to the global food supply is increasing—consumption more than doubled in developing countries between 1960 and 2005. Understanding climate change impacts on global potato yields is therefore important for future food security. Analyses of climate change impacts on potato compared to other major crops are rare, especially at the global scale. Of two global gridded potato modeling studies published at the time of this analysis, one simulated the impacts of temperature increases on potential potato yields; the other did not simulate the impacts of farmer adaptation to climate change, which may offset negative climate change impacts on yield. These studies may therefore overestimate negative climate change impacts on yields as they do not simultaneously include CO2 fertilisation and adaptation to climate change. Here we simulate the abiotic impacts of climate change on potato to 2050 using the GLAM crop model and the ISI-MIP ensemble of global climate models. Simulations include adaptations to climate change through varying planting windows and varieties and CO2 fertilisation, unlike previous global potato modeling studies. Results show significant skill in reproducing observed national scale yields in Europe. Elsewhere, correlations are generally positive but low, primarily due to poor relationships between national scale observed yields and climate. Future climate simulations including adaptation to climate change through changing planting windows and crop varieties show that yields are expected to increase in most cases as a result of longer growing seasons and CO2 fertilisation. Average global yield increases range from 9 to 20% when including adaptation. The global average yield benefits of adaptation to climate change range from 10 to 17% across climate models. Potato agriculture is associated with lower green house gas emissions relative to other major crops and therefore can be seen as a climate smart option given projected yield increases with adaptation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document