title: The impact of Polycomb group (PcG) and Trithorax group (TrxG) epigenetic factors in plant plasticity.
abstract: Current advances indicate that epigenetic mechanisms play important roles in the regulatory networks involved in plant developmental responses to environmental conditions. Hence, understanding the role of such components becomes crucial to understanding the mechanisms underlying the plasticity and variability of plant traits, and thus the ecology and evolution of plant development. We now know that important components of phenotypic variation may result from heritable and reversible epigenetic mechanisms without genetic alterations. The epigenetic factors Polycomb group (PcG) and Trithorax group (TrxG) are involved in developmental processes that respond to environmental signals, playing important roles in plant plasticity. In this review, we discuss current knowledge of TrxG and PcG functions in different developmental processes in response to internal and environmental cues and we also integrate the emerging evidence concerning their function in plant plasticity. Many such plastic responses rely on meristematic cell behavior, including stem cell niche maintenance, cellular reprogramming, flowering and dormancy as well as stress memory. This information will help to determine how to integrate the role of epigenetic regulation into models of gene regulatory networks, which have mostly included transcriptional interactions underlying various aspects of plant development and its plastic response to environmental conditions.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Genética Molecular, Epigenética, Desarrollo y Evolución de plantas, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), 3er Circuito Ext Junto a J. Botánico, Ciudad Universitaria, México, DF 04510, Mexico.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de la Paz Sanchez
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Genética Molecular, Epigenética, Desarrollo y Evolución de plantas, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), 3er Circuito Ext Junto a J. Botánico, Ciudad Universitaria, México, DF 04510, Mexico.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aceves-García
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Genética Molecular, Epigenética, Desarrollo y Evolución de plantas, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), 3er Circuito Ext Junto a J. Botánico, Ciudad Universitaria, México, DF 04510, Mexico.
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Petrone
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Genética Molecular, Epigenética, Desarrollo y Evolución de plantas, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), 3er Circuito Ext Junto a J. Botánico, Ciudad Universitaria, México, DF 04510, Mexico.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Steckenborn
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Genética Molecular, Epigenética, Desarrollo y Evolución de plantas, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), 3er Circuito Ext Junto a J. Botánico, Ciudad Universitaria, México, DF 04510, Mexico.
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vega-León
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Genética Molecular, Epigenética, Desarrollo y Evolución de plantas, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), 3er Circuito Ext Junto a J. Botánico, Ciudad Universitaria, México, DF 04510, Mexico.
authors.forename: Elena R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Álvarez-Buylla
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Genética Molecular, Epigenética, Desarrollo y Evolución de plantas, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), 3er Circuito Ext Junto a J. Botánico, Ciudad Universitaria, México, DF 04510, Mexico.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garay-Arroyo
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Genética Molecular, Epigenética, Desarrollo y Evolución de plantas, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), 3er Circuito Ext Junto a J. Botánico, Ciudad Universitaria, México, DF 04510, Mexico.
authors.forename: Berenice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: García-Ponce
mesh_terms: D065150:Cellular Reprogramming; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D018519:Meristem / Q000502:physiology; D010641:Phenotype; D063245:Plant Development; D063146:Polycomb-Group Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D055153:Stem Cell Niche / Q000502:physiology; D013312:Stress, Physiological
chemical_list: D006657:Histones; D063146:Polycomb-Group Proteins
keywords: Arabidopsis; Polycomb group (PcG); Trithorax group (TrxG); epigenetics; plant; plasticity