“Exploring the chromatin-based regulation of enhancer promoter contact and its impact on gene expression in tomato”
Epigenetic regulations have become a major focus of research activity in the current post-genomics era, a period in which the complete genome sequence of multiple model organisms is known. Yet the linear conception of the genome has been replaced by a highly complex and dynamic 3-dimensional organization of chromatin within the nucleus (Rodriguez-Granados et al., 2016; Concia et al., 2020 ; Huang et al., 2021) creating new challenges for the understanding of the control of gene expression but also possibilities to modulate these pathways. Major advances have been made regarding the chromatin regulation of biological processes in model species such as Arabidopsis thaliana. However, the extrapolation of these findings to crop species, such as tomato, remains a challenge. Indeed, the role of the 3D chromatin reorganizations in gene regulation, and how promoter-enhancer contacts are established in response to stress as well as the role of TFs in promoter-enhancer contacts remain largely unknown. In this context, my lab explores the chromatin-based regulation of 3D enhancer promoter contacts and how these nuclear reorganizations impact gene expression in tomato.
