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Plant Genomics 2019
June 13-14, 2019
Berlin, Germany
Asian Journal of Plant Science & Research
ISSN: 2249-7412
Page 34
Plant Genomics
5
th
Edition of International Conference on
AJPSKY 2019, Volume 09
The Role of Epigenetics and Environmental Stimuli in the
Inheritance of Freezing Tolerance in Wheat
Jamin Smitchger
Washington State University, USA
T
hefieldofepigeneticshasdiscoveredthatthegenome
is affected by environment, and it is possible to use
the idea of epigenetics in plant breeding by exposing
plants to various environmental cues such as frost,
drought, or hot temperatures. The progeny that result
from these epigenetic changes often have slightly higher
frost, drought, or heat tolerance. These principles were
first discovered by the eminent Russian biologist Trofim
Lysenko in the 1940’s, but the underlying mechanism
for such observations was not previously known. At this
current time, this phenomenon has not been extensively
studied and the potential role of DNA methylation in
plant breeding has not been thoroughly explored. In this
research, 43 wheat varieties were subjected to freezing
temperatures in a randomized complete block design
during four site years. The subsequent generation of
wheat after the freezing treatment was ~15% more
tolerant of freezing temperatures than the previous
generation, indicating significant epigenetic changes
were caused by the freezing treatment in the previous
generation. We conclude that environmental stimuli can
shape the phenotype of wheat, and that these epigenetic
changes can be heritable in subsequent generations.
This potentially could have an enormous impact on the
breeding of varieties that can withstand abiotic stresses.