DOI: 10.1093/hr/uhad174 ISSN:

Role of methylation in vernalization and photoperiod pathway: a potential flowering regulator?

Meimei Shi, Chunlei Wang, Peng Wang, Fahong Yun, Zhiya Liu, Fujin Ye, Lijuan Wei, Weibiao Liao
  • Horticulture
  • Plant Science
  • Genetics
  • Biochemistry
  • Biotechnology

Abstract

Recognized as a pivotal developmental transition, flowering marks the continuation of a plant’s lifecycle. Vernalization and photoperiod are two major flowering pathways orchestrating numerous florigenic signals. Methylation, including histone, DNA and RNA methylation, is one of recent focuses on plant development. Considerable studies reveal that methylation seems to show an increasing potential regulatory role in plant flowering via altering relevant gene expression without altering genetic basis. However, little is reviewed about whether/how methylation acts on vernalization- and photoperiod-induced flowering before and after FLC reactivation, what role RNA methylation plays in vernalization- and photoperiod-induced flowering, how methylation participates simultaneously in both vernalization- and photoperiod-induced flowering, the heritability of methylation memory under vernalization/photoperiod pathway, and whether/how methylation replaces vernalization/photoinduction to regulate flowering. Our review provides an insight about the crosstalk among genetic control of flowering gene network, methylation (methyltransferases/demethylases) and external signals (cold, light, sRNA and phytohormones) in vernalization and photoperiod pathways. The existing evidence that RNA methylation may play a potential regulatory role in vernalization- and photoperiod-induced flowering has been gathered and represented for the first time. This review speculates and discusses the possibility of methylation substitution for vernalization and photoinduction to promote flowering. Current evidences are utilized to discuss the possibility of future methylation reagents becoming flowering regulator at the molecular level.

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