H3K4 trimethylation dynamics impact diverse developmental and
environmental responses in plants
Abstract
Plants execute developmental programs and respond to changing
environmental conditions via adjustments in gene expression, which are
modulated in part by chromatin structure dynamics. Histone modifications
alter chromatin in precise ways on a global scale, having the potential
to influence the expression of numerous genes. Trimethylation of lysine
4 on histone H3 (H3K4me3) is a prominent histone modification that is
dogmatically associated with gene activity, but more recently has also
been linked to gene repression. As in other eukaryotes, the distribution
of H3K4me3 in plant genomes suggests it plays a central role in gene
expression regulation, however the underlying mechanisms are not fully
understood. Transcript levels of many genes related to flowering, root,
and shoot development are affected by dynamic H3K4me3 levels, as are
those for a number of stress-responsive and stress memory-related genes.
This review examines the current understanding of how H3K4me3 functions
in modulating plant responses to developmental and environmental cues.