N6-Methyladenosine dynamic changes and differential methylation in wheat grain development

Recent advances in the plant epitranscriptome

“…Plant species with known m 6 A profiles on a global scale are shown in a phylogenetic tree (left). The key m 6 A features (right) are summarized based on the studies in Pyrus bretschneideri (pear) [ 116 ], Malus hupehensis (apple) [ 108 ], Fragaria vesca (strawberry) [ 117 ], Hippophae rhamnoides (sea-buckthorn) [ 118 ], Glycine max (soybean) [ 27 ], Populus trichocarpa (populus) [ 119 – 121 ], Brassica rapa (pak-choi) [ 122 ], Arabidopsis thaliana ( Arabidopsis ) [ 28 , 29 ], Gossypium hirsutum (cotton) [ 133 , 136 ], Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) [ 97 , 123 , 124 ], Triticum aestivum (common wheat) [ 125 , 126 ], Aegilops tauschii (rough-spike hard grass) [ 27 ], Oryza sativa (rice) [ 92 , 127 ], Sorghum bicolor (sorghum) [ 128 ], Zea mays (maize) [ 134 ], Physcomitrella patens (earthmoss) [ 27 ], and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (green algae) [ 130 ]. Among these features, the “correlation with gene expression” is shown at the transcriptome-wide basis.…”

“…R = A/G; W = A/U; K = G/U; Y = C/U; D = A/G/U; H = A/C/U; V = A/G/C. b m 6 A modifications are influenced by various endogenous and environmental signals as shown in the following studies: developmental stages (strawberry [ 117 ], wheat [ 125 ]); different organs ( Arabidopsis [ 137 ]); ecotype divergence ( Arabidopsis [ 138 ]); blue light ( Arabidopsis [ 79 ]); salt stress ( Arabidopsis [ 139 , 140 ], sweet sorghum [ 128 ], rice [ 141 ], sugar beet [ 142 ], cotton [ 133 ]); heat/low temperature (pak-choi [ 122 ], Arabidopsis [ 143 ], tomato [ 124 ]); cadmium stress (rice [ 127 ], barley [ 132 ]); drought stress (sea-buckthorn [ 118 ], populus [ 119 ], apple [ 135 , 144 ]); pathogen infection (apple [ 108 ], rice [ 145 ], wheat [ 126 ], watermelon [ 131 ], pear [ 116 ]); and nematode infection (soybean [ 146 ]). c Expression of m 6 A writer and eraser genes are modulated by multiple external stimuli in Arabidopsis .…”

“…Interestingly, m 6 A could occur in divergent sequence contexts at different developmental stages of the same plant species. For instance, in common wheat, the GAGGGAG and UGUAY motifs are found in m 6 A peaks in grains and leaves, respectively [ 125 , 126 ].…”

Epigenetic control of plant senescence and cell death and its application in crop improvement

“…Additionally, SlDRM7 can be induced by leaf senescence, creating a feedback regulatory loop that balances vegetative growth and leaf senescence (Wen et al, 2022) (Figure 1D). Further, Li et al (2022) reported that leaf senescence of vegetable pak choi was accelerated by treatment with DNA methylation inhibitor 5-Azacytidine. Several DNA methyltransferases were down-regulated in leaves during pak choi storage.…”

“…However, it does stimulate the production of tiller buds and root meristem cell proliferation, as well as photosynthetic performance and tolerance to drought ( Yu et al., 2021 ). Epigenetic variants controlling potential agronomic traits have been shown in several crop species, for examples, sex determination in melon ( Martin et al., 2009 ), anthocyanin production in apple ( Telias et al., 2011 ), increased seed protein/oil ratio in oilseed rape ( Long et al., 2011 ), a dwarf phenotype in rice ( Chen and Zhou, 2013 ), and fruit ripening in tomato ( Liu et al., 2015 ), as well as an early flowering in strawberry and an early leaf senescence in Pak Choi after treatment with inhibitor of DNA methylation ( Xu et al., 2016 ; Li et al., 2022 ), and drought and salt tolerance in rice ( Garg et al., 2015 ). Tomato, Solanum lycopersicum , is a fleshy, climacteric fruit model plant, as well as an economically important crop plant.…”