Plant Genomics

Plant Epigenetics

A number of epigenetic phenomena were discovered in plants, but are not limited to plants. For instance, paramutation describes the heritable change in expression status of an allele upon its exposure to an allele that has the same sequence but displays a different expression status.  Plant biology has made to the discovery and study of epigenetic phenomena, plants provide ideal systems for epigenomics research. Epigenomic modifications alter gene expression without changing the letters of the DNA alphabet (A-T-C-G), providing cells with an additional tool to fine-tune how genes control the cellular machinery. By understanding epigenomic alterations in plants, scientists may be able to manipulate them for various purposes, including biofuels and creating crops that can withstand stressful events such as drought some of societies associated with Plant Epigenetics include.