Epigenetic Modifications Associated with Temperature Stresses

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 3469

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK
Interests: small non-coding RNA; microRNAs; gene expression regulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Epigenetics refers to the heritable alterations in gene expression that may lead to a variation in the phenotype without a change in the DNA sequence. Molecular events in epigenetics take place naturally in cells but are also affected by environmental conditions, such as heat, cold, drought, and pathogen infections. In particular, heat and cold greatly affect plant growth and development. Research in recent years has revealed that epigenetic modification plays a key role in plants’ response to temperature stress.

This Special Issue focuses on recent progress in the epigenetic control of temperature responses, including cold and heat responses in plants. Further research perspectives will also be discussed. We invite you to submit an original scientific report, a review article, or a commentary or perspective piece on this topic.

Prof. Tamas Dalmay
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biology is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • epigenetics
  • DNA methylation
  • histone modification
  • chromatin remodeling
  • temperature
  • heat stress
  • cold stress
  • small non-coding RNA
  • transgenerational memory
  • polycomb

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

20 pages, 1338 KiB  
Article
Phenotypic Responses, Reproduction Mode and Epigenetic Patterns under Temperature Treatments in the Alpine Plant Species Ranunculus kuepferi (Ranunculaceae)
by Eleni Syngelaki, Mareike Daubert, Simone Klatt and Elvira Hörandl
Biology 2020, 9(10), 315; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology9100315 - 29 Sep 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3014
Abstract
Plant life in alpine habitats is shaped by harsh abiotic conditions and cold climates. Phenotypic variation of morphological characters and reproduction can be influenced by temperature stress. Nevertheless, little is known about the performance of different cytotypes under cold stress and how epigenetic [...] Read more.
Plant life in alpine habitats is shaped by harsh abiotic conditions and cold climates. Phenotypic variation of morphological characters and reproduction can be influenced by temperature stress. Nevertheless, little is known about the performance of different cytotypes under cold stress and how epigenetic patterns could relate to phenotypic variation. Ranunculus kuepferi, a perennial alpine plant, served as a model system for testing the effect of cold stress on phenotypic plasticity, reproduction mode, and epigenetic variation. Diploid and autotetraploid individuals were placed in climate growth cabinets under warm and cold conditions. Morphological traits (height, leaves and flowers) and the proportion of well-developed seeds were measured as fitness indicators, while flow cytometric seed screening (FCSS) was utilized to determine the reproduction mode. Subsequently, comparisons with patterns of methylation-sensitive amplified fragment-length polymorphisms (AFLPs) were conducted. Diploids grew better under warm conditions, while tetraploids performed better in cold treatments. Epigenetic patterns were correlated with the expressed morphological traits. Cold stress reduced the reproduction fitness but did not induce apomixis in diploids. Overall, our study underlines the potential of phenotypic plasticity for acclimation under environmental conditions and confirms the different niche preferences of cytotypes in natural populations. Results help to understand the pattern of geographical parthenogenesis in the species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epigenetic Modifications Associated with Temperature Stresses)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop