Roles of dynamic and reversible histone acetylation in plant development and polyploidy

Transcriptional regulation in eukaryotes is not simply determined by the DNA sequence, but rather mediated through dynamic chromatin modifications and remodeling. Recent studies have shown that reversible and rapid changes in histone acetylation play an essential role in chromatin modification, induce genome-wide and specific changes in gene expression, and affect a variety of biological processes in response to internal and external signals, such as cell differentiation, growth, development, light, temperature, and abiotic and biotic stresses. Moreover, historic acetylation and deacetylation are associated with RNA interference and other chromatin modifications including DNA and historic methylation. The reversible changes in historic acetylation also contribute to cell cycle regulation and epigenetic silencing of rDNA and redundant genes in response to interspecific hybridization and polyploidy. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.