Epi-fingerprinting and epi-interventions for improved crop production and food quality

Abstract

Increasing crop production at a time of rapid climate change represents the greatest challenge facing modern agricultural research. Much of our understanding of the genetic control of yield derives from controlled field experiments that seek to minimise variance in the growing environment. However, there is inevitably substantial residual variability among plants in their phenotype, development and yield attributable to Genotype x Environment (GxE) interactions. Recent advances in the field of epigenetics have revealed a plethora of gene control mechanisms that could account for much of this unassigned variation. These systems act as a regulatory interface between the perception of environmental variables and associated alterations in gene expression and provide exciting new opportunities for crop improvement. Direct manipulation of epigenetic control systems hold the enticing promise of creating new sources of variability that could enhance crop performance. Equally, understanding the relationship between various epigenetic states and responses of the crop to specific aspects of the growing environment (epigenetic fingerprinting) could allow for a more tailored approach to plant agronomy. In this review, we explore the many ways in which epigenetic interventions and epigenetic fingerprinting can be deployed for the improvement of crop production and quality.