Plant Epigenomes

Genome activity and structure can be altered without changes in the genome sequence by the epigenome, which can be helpful for determining the intra-individual and inter-individual variation in plants. The epigenome is defined as a set of covalent modifications of DNA and chromatin. Internal or external factors, such as environmental changes, can change the epigenome of plant cells, thereby making it plastic to create a memory of such events. Changes in plant phenotype by the environment can be studied through knowledge of epigenetics and epigenomics. Furthermore, genetically unexplained phenotypic variance can be studied by high-throughput profiling of epigenomes at the cellular level. Stability of the genome, chromatin structure and gene expression are influenced by changes in the epigenome, such as modification of histone proteins, methylation of DNA bases and changes in the biogenesis of noncoding RNAs. Various biological processes are known to be regulated by methylation of DNA bases. However, several abnormalities occur in plants and animals due to interruption in DNA methylation homeostasis.