Chromatin Remodeling in Plant Development

Chromatin remodeling encompasses dynamic alterations to nucleosome composition, positioning and structure that enable or restrict access to genomic DNA. In plants, ATP-dependent remodelling complexes such as SWI/SNF, INO80/SWR1 and ISWI underpin key developmental transitions by repositioning or evicting nucleosomes, exchanging histone variants and modulating higher-order chromatin compaction. These activities cooperate with transcription factors and Polycomb-group repressors to regulate meristem maintenance, phase change from juvenile to adult growth, flowering time, inflorescence architecture and organ morphogenesis. By establishing permissive or repressive chromatin states at specific loci, remodelers encode epigenetic memory of developmental cues and environmental stimuli such as light, temperature and nutrient availability. This interplay is critical for orchestrating cell fate decisions, balancing growth with stress adaptation and optimising crop traits. Recent advances in structural biology, high-throughput chromatin profiling and targeted perturbation have illuminated the modular composition of remodelling complexes, revealed specialised subunit functions and begun to map their genome-wide targets. An integrated understanding of chromatin remodelling in plant development promises to inform rational breeding strategies and biotechnological interventions to improve yield stability, stress resilience and resource use efficiency.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have elucidated the role of previously uncharacterised subunits in fine-tuning chromatin accessibility during the juvenile-to-adult phase transition. In particular, BCL7 homologues have been shown to associate with the BRAHMA-based SWI/SNF complex, enhancing its ATPase-driven remodelling activity at a subset of regulatory regions. Loss of these subunits leads to reduced chromatin accessibility at the juvenility-resetting region of key microRNA loci, thereby impairing maintenance of juvenile identity. This work highlights the existence of specialised accessory proteins that modulate core SWI/SNF function to establish cell-type and stage-specific chromatin states and suggests a mechanism by which plants ‘memorise’ developmental age through precise control of remodeller activity.

Chromatin Remodeling in Plant Development publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in chromatin remodeling in plant development across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Chromatin remodelling complex: A multiprotein assembly that uses ATP hydrolysis to reposition, eject or restructure nucleosomes, thereby altering DNA accessibility.

SWI/SNF: A major family of ATP-dependent chromatin remodellers capable of sliding or evicting nucleosomes to regulate transcription, development and stress responses.

Nucleosome: The fundamental unit of chromatin, comprising ~147 base pairs of DNA wrapped around an octamer of histone proteins.

ATPase subunit: The catalytic component of a remodelling complex that hydrolyses ATP to drive conformational changes in nucleosomal DNA.

Histone variant H2A.Z: A non-canonical histone incorporated by SWR1/SRC-type complexes, influencing nucleosome stability and transcriptional regulation.

References

1. The Role and Activity of SWI/SNF Chromatin Remodelers. Annual Review of Plant Biology (2023).
2. BCL7A and BCL7B potentiate SWI/SNF-complex-mediated chromatin accessibility to regulate gene expression and vegetative phase transition in plants. Nature Communications (2024).
3. The SAS chromatin-remodeling complex mediates inflorescence-specific chromatin accessibility for transcription factor binding. Nucleic Acids Research (2025).
4. The Transcription Factor WFZP Interacts with the Chromatin Remodeler TaSYD to Regulate Root Architecture and Nitrogen Uptake Efficiency in Wheat. Advanced Science (2025).
5. Regulation of Plant Growth and Development: A Review From a Chromatin Remodeling Perspective. Frontiers in Plant Science (2018).