Abstract:
Woody plants create the ecosystems they occupy and shape their biodiversity. Today\'s rapidly warming climate threatens these long-lived species by creating new environments in which existing populations become maladapted. Plants show enormous phenotypic diversity in response to environmental change, which can be caused by genotype or epigenetic mechanisms that influence the expression of the underlying DNA sequence. Whether epigenetics can affect ecologically important traits in trees is an important and controversial question. We explore the evidence that DNA methylation can affect gene expression, both directly and indirectly via its interaction with transposable elements (TEs), and subsequently shapes phenotypic variation in natural tree populations. Furthermore, we consider the potential of epigenetic approaches to assist in their conservation management strategies.
摘要:
木本植物创造了它们占据的生态系统,并塑造了它们的生物多样性。今天迅速变暖的气候通过创造新的环境来威胁这些长寿的物种,在这些环境中现有的种群变得适应不良。植物对环境变化的反应表现出巨大的表型多样性,这可能是由影响基础DNA序列表达的基因型或表观遗传机制引起的。表观遗传学是否会影响树木的生态重要性状是一个重要且有争议的问题。我们探索DNA甲基化可以影响基因表达的证据,通过其与转座因子(TE)的相互作用直接和间接,并随后在自然树种群中形成表型变异。此外,我们考虑了表观遗传学方法在其保护管理策略中的潜力。