The role of plant epigenetics in biotic interactions

Abstract

Contents Summary 731 I. Biotic interactions in the context of genetic, epigenetic and environmental diversity 731 II. Biotic interactions affect epigenetic configuration 732 III. Plant epigenetic configuration influences biotic interactions 733 IV. Epigenetic memory in the context of biotic interactions 734 V. Conclusions and future research 735 Acknowledgements 735 Author contributions 735 References 735 SUMMARY: Plants are hubs of a wide range of biotic interactions with mutualist and antagonist animals, microbes and neighboring plants. Because the quality and intensity of those relationships can change over time, a fast and reversible response to stress is required. Here, we review recent studies on the role of epigenetic factors such as DNA methylation and histone modifications in modulating plant biotic interactions, and discuss the state of knowledge regarding their potential role in memory and priming. Moreover, we provide an overview of strategies to investigate the contribution of epigenetics to environmentally induced phenotypic changes in an ecological context, highlighting possible transitions from whole-genome high-resolution analyses in plant model organisms to informative reduced representation analyses in genomically less accessible species.

Keywords: DNA methylation; biotic stress; epigenetic; plant-animal interactions; plant-microbe interactions; priming.

Figure 1

Plant phenotype is affected by abiotic conditions and diverse biotic interactions that can range from mutualistic to neutral to antagonistic. Analysis of functional phenotypic traits can help to better understand how epigenetic features contribute to plant fitness and response to biotic stress. While biotic interactions can impact the plant's epigenetic configuration (1), epigenetic features in turn influence biotic interactions (2) by modulating the plant's response. Gaining insights into functional relationships requires concurrent analysis of epigenetic variation and phenotypic trait variation between individuals exposed to contrasted biotic interactions. In addition, a better understanding of epigenetic molecular mechanisms and the epigenetic regulation of specific loci and physiological pathways is necessary to clarify epigenetic contribution to the stabilization of environmentally induced phenotypes across generations.