Plant genomes encode various small RNAs that function in distinct, yet overlapping, genetic
and epigenetic silencing pathways. However, the abundance and diversity of small-RNA …

Since the human genome was sequenced, the term" epigenetics" is increasingly being
associated with the hope that we are more than just the sum of our genes. Might what we …

RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) is the major small RNA-mediated epigenetic
pathway in plants. RdDM requires a specialized transcriptional machinery that comprises …

We have witnessed an explosion in our understanding of the evolution and structure of plant
genomes in recent years. Here, we highlight three important emergent realizations:(1) that …

Regulatory small RNAs, which range in size from 20 to 24 nucleotides, are ubiquitous
components of endogenous plant transcriptomes, as well as common responses to …

Cytosine DNA methylation is a stable epigenetic mark that is crucial for diverse biological
processes, including gene and transposon silencing, imprinting and X chromosome …

Epigenetic modifications of the genome are generally stable in somatic cells of multicellular
organisms. In germ cells and early embryos, however, epigenetic reprogramming occurs on …

The ability of a seed to germinate and establish a plant at the right time of year is of vital
importance from an ecological and economical point of view. Due to the fragility of these …

Heterosis, also known as hybrid vigour, is widespread in plants and animals, but the
molecular bases for this phenomenon remain elusive. Recent studies in hybrids and …

Epigenetic inheritance is more widespread in plants than in mammals, in part because
mammals erase epigenetic information by germline reprogramming. We sequenced the …