Abstract
Plants have the remarkable ability to establish new cell fates throughout their life cycle, in contrast to most animals that define all cell lineages during embryogenesis. This ability is exemplified during sexual reproduction in flowering plants where novel cell types are generated in floral tissues of the adult plant during sporogenesis, gametogenesis, and embryogenesis. While the molecular and genetic basis of cell specification during sexual reproduction is being studied for a long time, recent works disclosed an unsuspected role of global chromatin organization and its dynamics. In this review, we describe the events of chromatin dynamics during the different phases of sexual reproduction and discuss their possible significance particularly in cell fate establishment.
Highlights
Flowering plants have a life cycle alternating between a dominant, diploid sporophytic phase and a short haploid gametophytic phase
We describe the events of chromatin dynamics during the different phases of sexual reproduction and discuss their possible significance in cell fate establishment
With the increasing body of evidence that these processes are accompanied by large-scale chromatin dynamics events, an exciting area is opening; further efforts are needed to comprehend a yet, underestimated level of control mediated by chromatin dynamics likely potentiating theprogramming of genome expression during those processes
Summary
Plants have the remarkable ability to establish new cell fates throughout their life cycle, in contrast to most animals that define all cell lineages during embryogenesis. This ability is exemplified during sexual reproduction in flowering plants where novel cell types are generated in floral tissues of the adult plant during sporogenesis, gametogenesis, and embryogenesis. While the molecular and genetic basis of cell specification during sexual reproduction is being studied for a long time, recent works disclosed an unsuspected role of global chromatin organization and its dynamics. We describe the events of chromatin dynamics during the different phases of sexual reproduction and discuss their possible significance in cell fate establishment
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
