title: Epigenetic processes in flowering plant reproduction.
abstract: Seeds provide up to 70% of the energy intake of the human population, emphasizing the relevance of understanding the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms controlling seed formation. In flowering plants, seeds are the product of a double fertilization event, leading to the formation of the embryo and the endosperm surrounded by maternal tissues. Analogous to mammals, plants undergo extensive epigenetic reprogramming during both gamete formation and early seed development, a process that is supposed to be required to enforce silencing of transposable elements and thus to maintain genome stability. Global changes of DNA methylation, histone modifications, and small RNAs are closely associated with epigenome programming during plant reproduction. Here, we review current knowledge on chromatin changes occurring during sporogenesis and gametogenesis, as well as early seed development in major flowering plant models.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, Uppsala BioCenter, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Linnean Center for Plant Biology, Uppsala, Sweden.|Shanghai Key Laboratory of Bio-Energy Crops, School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China.
authors.forename: Guifeng
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, Uppsala BioCenter, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Linnean Center for Plant Biology, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Köhler
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000502:physiology; D002843:Chromatin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000502:physiology*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D017343:Genes, Plant / Q000502:physiology; D012275:Oryza / Q000502:physiology; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena / Q000235:genetics; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology; D003313:Zea mays / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin
keywords: DNA methylation; epigenetics; histone modifications; plant reproduction; reprogramming; small RNAs.