Can Forest Trees Cope with Climate Change?—Effects of DNA Methylation on Gene Expression and Adaptation to Environmental Change

Ewelina A Klupczyńska,Ewelina Ratajczak

doi:10.3390/ijms222413524

Abstract

Epigenetic modifications, including chromatin modifications and DNA methylation, play key roles in regulating gene expression in both plants and animals. Transmission of epigenetic markers is important for some genes to maintain specific expression patterns and preserve the status quo of the cell. This article provides a review of existing research and the current state of knowledge about DNA methylation in trees in the context of global climate change, along with references to the potential of epigenome editing tools and the possibility of their use for forest tree research. Epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, are involved in evolutionary processes, developmental processes, and environmental interactions. Thus, the implications of epigenetics are important for adaptation and phenotypic plasticity because they provide the potential for tree conservation in forest ecosystems exposed to adverse conditions resulting from global warming and regional climate fluctuations.

Highlights

Findings for the distantly related Scots pine Pinus sylvestris L. populations located in northern and southern Finland suggest that DNA methylation and gene expression contribute to local adaptation in these populations and help the trees adapt to rapidly changing environmental conditions [5]
The study shows most genes with the strongest correlation to climate variables as having significantly different expressions between populations. These results indicate that DNA methylation plays an important role in ponderosa pine adaptation [5]
There is a need to understand the extent to which epigenetics play a role in resilience and plastic adaptation to the environment

Summary

Introduction

Mol. The discovery of epigenetic modifications of DNA and DNA-related modifications of chromatin proteins is of great scientific importance because it provides new directions for research and greatly expands the prospects of experimental biology. It has become clear that genes are not the sole determinant of heritability and variation in traits or the development of organisms. Epigenetics has shown that a second, highly important stimulator is the environment in which organisms live. This is the case for both plant and animal kingdoms. According to the latest scientific knowledge, ‘epigenetics’

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