Wheat Breeding, Transcription Factories, and Genetic Interactions: New Perspectives

Front Plant Sci. 2022 Feb 23:13:807884. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.807884. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Epistatic interactions and negative heterosis have been shown to be associated with interchromosomal interactions in wheat. Physical gene-gene interactions between co-regulated genes clustered in "transcription factories" have been documented, and a genome-wide atlas of functionally paired, interacting regulatory elements and genes of wheat recently produced. Integration of these new studies on gene and regulatory element interactions, co-regulation of gene expression in "transcription factories," and epigenetics generates new perspectives for wheat breeding and trait enhancement.

Keywords: breeding; epigenetics; heterosis; transcription factories; wheat.