Understanding the Crosstalk Between Chromatin Remodeling Mechanism and Phytohormones Signaling for Maintenance of Plant Developmental Plasticity: An Insight

Abstract

AbstractAs inanimate in nature, plants exhibit a high level of developmental plasticity in their growth and development to combat environmental fluctuations. Plants have evolved highly efficient response mechanisms including phytohormones (auxin, cytokinin, gibberellin, abscisic acid, ethylene, brassinosteroids, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid) for maintaining growth and development in response to variable environmental stimuli. The tight control of the signaling network regulates the biosynthesis, degradation, and efficient transport of phytohormones at the site of their cellular response. Plants regulate the action of phytohormones through spatiotemporal distribution. Interestingly, it has been observed that phytohormones not only govern cell division, flowering, cell proliferation, seed germination but they also respond to several biotic and abiotic stress conditions. Recent studies revealed that the ATP-dependent chromatin remodelers (ACRs) also regulate the biosynthesis and signaling of phytohormones in plants. The dynamic nature of chromatin architecture determines transcriptional accessibility to DNA and gene expression levels in response to developmental and environmental stimuli. The single and double mutants of ACRs, particularly the SWI/SNF chromatin remodelers were found to be associated with complete impairment of the phytohormone signaling network. Moreover, epigenetic modifications also modulate the transport and signal transduction mechanisms of phytohormones. Interestingly, phytohormone signaling also affects the expression of many chromatin modifiers. So, the chromatin remodelers and phytohormones may interact at multiple levels to regulate plant growth. The complex crosstalk mechanism of phytohormone signaling and chromatin structure is still largely enigmatic. In this present book chapter, we have a specific focus on the function of chromatin modifiers in the modulation of chromatin structure and the interactions with the phytohormone biosynthesis and signaling to showcase their molecular crosstalk mechanism in the context of the multidimensional growth response in plants.KeywordsPhytohormonesChromatin remodelingSignal transduction mechanisms