EPICON: Epigenetic Control of Drought Acclimation in Sorghum
EMSL Project ID
50099
Abstract
Genetic manipulation of crops to increase the presence or intensity of desirable traits has been critical to increasing agricultural productivity. These changes have primarily involved modification of the plant’s DNA sequence. However, there is increasing recognition that plant development and environmental responses are also mediated by epigenetics, which involves heritable changes in phenotype or gene expression without changes in DNA sequence. Specifically, epigenetic changes have been shown to play a major role in regulating plant responses to drought, an increasing problem for world agriculture due to climate change. In general, exposure of plants to abiotic stresses, including water limitation, triggers cascades of epigenetic changes, which include remodeling of chromatin, the network of DNA, RNA and various proteins making up chromosomes, and related changes in regulatory mechanisms, including small non-coding RNAs.
Project Details
Start Date
2017-10-30
End Date
2018-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Co-Investigator(s)
Team Members
Related Publications
Varoquaux N., B. Cole, C. Gao, G. Pierroz, C. Baker, D. Patel, and M. Madera, et al. 2019. "Transcriptomic analysis of field-droughted sorghum from seedling to maturity reveals biotic and metabolic responses." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 116, no. 52:27124-27132. PNNL-SA-140530. doi:10.1073/pnas.1907500116