AUTHOR=Gallo-Franco Jenny Johana , Sosa Chrystian Camilo , Ghneim-Herrera Thaura , Quimbaya Mauricio 

TITLE=Epigenetic Control of Plant Response to Heavy Metal Stress: A New View on Aluminum Tolerance

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2020

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.602625

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2020.602625

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=Heavy metal (HM) ions represent an agronomic problem for crop production in acid soils (pH≤5). Although low concentrations of some HMs, such as copper (Co), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn), are essential for plant physiology and development, at high concentration HMs result in morphological and physiological damage for plants. Aluminum (Al3+) is one of the most abundant and toxic chemical elements in acid soils, and plants have evolved different mechanisms to handle its negative effects, that can be grouped into two main categories: (i) exclusion mechanisms, that avoid or minimize the entrance of Al3+ to plant roots, and (ii) detoxification mechanisms, allowing Al3+ sequestration/translocation and detoxification once it is integrated into the cellular environment. Several studies have elucidated the genetic mechanisms that confer aluminum tolerance to plants, reporting specific genetic elements involved in this positive response, focusing on plants genetic adaptation to stress. In contrast epigenetic mechanisms underlying plant responses to HM stress, particularly to aluminum toxicity, remain poorly understood. Here, we describe the principal epigenetic mechanisms related to crop responses to HM ions, with special focus on aluminum tolerance. Additionally, using rice as a study case, we evaluated and proposed novel candidate genes as possible key regulators in the epigenetic response to aluminum stress tolerance.