牧草表观遗传学研究进展

表观遗传是指在DNA序列不变的情况下基因表达发生变化的现象。表观遗传现象与外界环境条件的变化紧密相关,它参与植物的生长发育、胁迫响应、衰老死亡等重要生命过程并在其中起到了关键作用。表观遗传学作为一门新兴学科在近20年间得到了快速发展,成为当前动植物和医学领域的研究热点。目前植物表观遗传学的相关研究主要集中在DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰、RNA甲基化、染色质重塑和非编码RNA修饰等方面,并取得了许多重要成果。然而,相对于模式植物拟南芥和其他主要作物而言,牧草的表观遗传学研究仍处于起步阶段。因此,开展牧草表观遗传学研究对我国草牧业的可持续发展具有重要意义。本研究对表观遗传学的概念、研究方法、研究内容(包括DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰、RNA甲基化、染色质重塑和非编码RNA修饰等)及牧草表观遗传学相关研究进行了全面总结和综述,并对表观遗传在草牧业中的发展前景进行了展望。

Research advances in epigenetics of forage grasses

Epigenetics is concerned with the phenomenon of change in gene expression without change in the DNA sequence. Epigenetic phenomena have important impacts on various life processes, such as plant growth and development, stress responses, senescence, and death, and are often observed in conjunction with environmental changes where they may modify environmental impact on biological functions. Epigenetic studies have developed rapidly in the past few decades and have assisted understanding in several research fields, especially the animal and plant sciences, and medicine. Meanwhile, recent advances in science and technology have greatly promoted plant epigenetic analyses. At present, the research of plant epigenetics mainly focuses on DNA methylation, histone modification, RNA methylation, chromatin remodeling and non-coding RNA modification. Many important results have emerged. However, the application of epigenetics in forage grasses is still in the preliminary stage relative to the model plant Arabidopsis and other major crops. Therefore, studies on epigenetics in forage grasses have great significance to the sustainable development of grasslands and animal husbandry in China, and elsewhere. In this paper, we provide examples of the concepts, research methods and research contents of epigenetic studies, including DNA methylation, histone modification, RNA methylation, chromatin remodeling, and non-coding RNA modification. We also review some epigenetic studies in forage grasses and comment on the prospects of epigenetics in the development of grassland and animal husbandry practice.