scholarly journals Coordinated Epigenetic Regulation in Plants: A Potent Managerial Tool to Conquer Biotic Stress

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chien-Yu Huang ◽  
Hailing Jin

Plants have evolved variable phenotypic plasticity to counteract different pathogens and pests during immobile life. Microbial infection invokes multiple layers of host immune responses, and plant gene expression is swiftly and precisely reprogramed at both the transcriptional level and post-transcriptional level. Recently, the importance of epigenetic regulation in response to biotic stresses has been recognized. Changes in DNA methylation, histone modification, and chromatin structures have been observed after microbial infection. In addition, epigenetic modifications may be preserved as transgenerational memories to allow the progeny to better adapt to similar environments. Epigenetic regulation involves various regulatory components, including non-coding small RNAs, DNA methylation, histone modification, and chromatin remodelers. The crosstalk between these components allows precise fine-tuning of gene expression, giving plants the capability to fight infections and tolerant drastic environmental changes in nature. Fully unraveling epigenetic regulatory mechanisms could aid in the development of more efficient and eco-friendly strategies for crop protection in agricultural systems. In this review, we discuss the recent advances on the roles of epigenetic regulation in plant biotic stress responses.

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 203-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Morales ◽  
Mariano Monzo ◽  
Alfons Navarro

AbstractMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are single-stranded RNAs of 18–25 nucleotides that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. They are involved in many physiological and pathological processes, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, development and carcinogenesis. Because of the central role of miRNAs in the regulation of gene expression, their expression needs to be tightly controlled. Here, we summarize the different mechanisms of epigenetic regulation of miRNAs, with a particular focus on DNA methylation and histone modification.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (12) ◽  
pp. 1550-1561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Vittoria Micioni Di Bonaventura ◽  
Mariangela Pucci ◽  
Maria Elena Giusepponi ◽  
Adele Romano ◽  
Catia Lambertucci ◽  
...  

Background:Pharmacological treatment approaches for eating disorders, such as binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa, are currently limited.Methods and aims:Using a well-characterized animal model of binge eating, we investigated the epigenetic regulation of the A2AAdenosine Receptor (A2AAR) and dopaminergic D2 receptor (D2R) genes.Results:Gene expression analysis revealed a selective increase of both receptor mRNAs in the amygdaloid complex of stressed and restricted rats, which exhibited binge-like eating, when compared to non-stressed and non-restricted rats. Consistently, pyrosequencing analysis revealed a significant reduction of the percentage of DNA methylation but only at the A2AAR promoter region in rats showing binge-like behaviour compared to the control animals. Focusing thus on A2AAR agonist (VT 7) administration (which inhibited the episode of binge systemically at 0.1 mg/kg or intra-central amygdala (CeA) injection at 900 ng/side) induced a significant increase of A2AAR mRNA levels in restricted and stressed rats when compared to the control group. In addition, we observed a significant decrease in A2AAR mRNA levels in rats treated with the A2AAR antagonist (ANR 94) at 1 mg/kg. Consistent changes in the DNA methylation status of the A2AAR promoter were found in restricted and stressed rats after administration of VT 7 or ANR 94.Conclusion:We confirm the role of A2AAR in binge eating behaviours, and we underline the importance of epigenetic regulation of the A2AAR gene, possibly due to a compensatory mechanism to counteract the effect of binge eating. We suggest that A2AAR activation, inducing receptor gene up-regulation, could be relevant to reduction of food consumption.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ieva Rauluseviciute ◽  
Finn Drabløs ◽  
Morten Beck Rye

Abstract Background Prostate cancer (PCa) has the highest incidence rates of cancers in men in western countries. Unlike several other types of cancer, PCa has few genetic drivers, which has led researchers to look for additional epigenetic and transcriptomic contributors to PCa development and progression. Especially datasets on DNA methylation, the most commonly studied epigenetic marker, have recently been measured and analysed in several PCa patient cohorts. DNA methylation is most commonly associated with downregulation of gene expression. However, positive associations of DNA methylation to gene expression have also been reported, suggesting a more diverse mechanism of epigenetic regulation. Such additional complexity could have important implications for understanding prostate cancer development but has not been studied at a genome-wide scale. Results In this study, we have compared three sets of genome-wide single-site DNA methylation data from 870 PCa and normal tissue samples with multi-cohort gene expression data from 1117 samples, including 532 samples where DNA methylation and gene expression have been measured on the exact same samples. Genes were classified according to their corresponding methylation and expression profiles. A large group of hypermethylated genes was robustly associated with increased gene expression (UPUP group) in all three methylation datasets. These genes demonstrated distinct patterns of correlation between DNA methylation and gene expression compared to the genes showing the canonical negative association between methylation and expression (UPDOWN group). This indicates a more diversified role of DNA methylation in regulating gene expression than previously appreciated. Moreover, UPUP and UPDOWN genes were associated with different compartments — UPUP genes were related to the structures in nucleus, while UPDOWN genes were linked to extracellular features. Conclusion We identified a robust association between hypermethylation and upregulation of gene expression when comparing samples from prostate cancer and normal tissue. These results challenge the classical view where DNA methylation is always associated with suppression of gene expression, which underlines the importance of considering corresponding expression data when assessing the downstream regulatory effect of DNA methylation.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thais Silva Tavares ◽  
Fernanda Lins Brandão Mügge ◽  
Viviane Grazielle-Silva ◽  
Bruna Mattioly Valente ◽  
Wanessa Moreira Goes ◽  
...  

SummaryTrypanosoma cruzi has three biochemically and morphologically distinct developmental stages that are programed to rapidly respond to environmental changes the parasite faces during its life cycle. Unlike other eukaryotes, Trypanosomatid genomes contain protein coding genes that are transcribed into polycistronic pre-mRNAs and control of gene expression relies on mechanisms acting at the post-transcriptional level. Transcriptome analyses comparing epimastigote, trypomastigote and intracellular amastigote stages revealed changes in gene expression that reflect the parasite adaptation to distinct environments. Several genes encoding RNA binding proteins (RBP), known to act as key post-transcriptional regulatory factors, were also differentially expressed. We characterized one T. cruzi RBP (TcZH3H12) that contains a zinc finger domain, and whose transcripts are upregulated in epimastigotes compared to trypomastigotes and amastigotes. TcZC3H12 knockout epimastigotes showed decreased growth rates and increased capacity to differentiate into metacyclic trypomastigotes. Comparative transcriptome analysis revealed a TcZC3H12-dependent expression of epimastigote specific genes encoding amino acid transporters and proteins associated with differentiation (PAD), among others. RNA immunoprecipitation assays showed that transcripts from the PAD family interact with TcZC3H12. Taken together, these findings suggest that TcZC3H12 positively regulates the expression of genes involved in epimastigote proliferation and also acts as a negative regulator of metacyclogenesis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Carvalho Barbosa ◽  
Sydnee H. Calhoun ◽  
Hans-Joachim Wieden

Over the past two decades, the importance of small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) as regulatory molecules has become apparent in all three domains of life (archaea, bacteria, eukaryotes). In fact, sncRNAs play an important role in the control of gene expression at both the transcriptional and the post-transcriptional level, with crucial roles in fine-tuning cell responses during internal and external stress. Multiple pathways for sncRNA biogenesis and diverse mechanisms of regulation have been reported, and although biogenesis and mechanisms of sncRNAs in prokaryotes and eukaryotes are different, remarkable similarities exist. Here, we briefly review and compare the major sncRNA classes that act post-transcriptionally, and focus on recent discoveries regarding the ribosome as a target of regulation and the conservation of these mechanisms between prokaryotes and eukaryotes.


2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 1979-1993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory A. Michelotti ◽  
D. Marshall Brinkley ◽  
Daniel P. Morris ◽  
Michael P. Smith ◽  
Raphael J. Louie ◽  
...  

Epigenomics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 745-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia Hopp ◽  
Henry Löffler-Wirth ◽  
Jörg Galle ◽  
Hans Binder

Author(s):  
Isabella Pentimone

Abstract MicroRNAs (miRNAs) were envisioned, in recent years, as alternative, environmental friendly molecular tools to confer crop protection. This view was based on their ability to move across Kingdoms and to modulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level, inhibiting pathogens or parasites' invasive processes or promoting plant favorable microorganisms. Strategies based on miRNAs, complementing the already existing technologies or creating new unexplored ones, are expected to provide valuable tools to reduce crop biotic damage, increasing food production and safety. This review provides a brief overview of miRNA-based technologies applied so far for plant protection and reports some new approaches suggested by recent acquisitions on miRNA.


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