Since the human genome was sequenced, the term "epigenetics" is increasingly being associated with the hope that we are more than just the sum of our genes. Might what we eat, the air we breathe, or even the emotions we feel influence not only our genes but those of descendants? The environment can certainly influence gene expression and can lead to disease, but transgenerational consequences are another matter. Although the inheritance of epigenetic characters can certainly occur—particularly in plants—how much is due to the environment and the extent to which it happens in humans remain unclear. 

Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance: myths and mechanisms

https://carollee.labs.wisc.edu/Evolution410_Reading/EpigeneticReview2014.pdf

The predominant emphasis on harmful effects of environmental stresses on growth of woody plants has obscured some very beneficial effects of such stresses. Slowly increasing stresses may induce physiological adjustment that protects plants from the growth inhibition and/or injury that follow when environmental stresses are abruptly imposed. In addition, short exposures of woody plants to extreme environmental conditions at critical times in their development often improve growth. Furthermore, maintaining harvested seedlings and plant products at very low temperatures extends their longevity. Drought tolerance: Seedlings previously exposed to water stress often undergo less inhibition of growth and other processes following transplanting than do seedlings not previously exposed to such stress. Controlled wetting and drying cycles often promote early budset, dormancy, and drought tolerance. In many species increased drought tolerance following such cycles is associated with osmotic adjustment that ...

Acclimation and adaptive responses of woody plants to environmental stresses

Comprehensive functional data on plant R2R3-MYB transcription factors is still scarce compared to the manifold of their occurrence. Here, we identified the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) R2R3-MYB transcription factor MYB12 as a flavonol-specific activator of flavonoid biosynthesis. Transient expression in Arabidopsis protoplasts revealed a high degree of functional similarity between MYB12 and the structurally closely related factor P from maize (Zea mays). Both displayed similar target gene specificity, and both activated target gene promoters only in the presence of a functional MYB recognition element. The genes encoding the flavonoid biosynthesis enzymes chalcone synthase, chalcone flavanone isomerase, flavanone 3-hydroxylase, and flavonol synthase were identified as target genes. Hence, our observations further add to the general notion of a close relationship between structure and function of R2R3-MYB factors. High-performance liquid chromatography analyses of myb12 mutant plants and MYB12 overexpression plants demonstrate a tight linkage between the expression level of functional MYB12 and the flavonol content of young seedlings. Quantitative real time reverse transcription-PCR using these mutant plants showed MYB12 to be a transcriptional regulator of CHALCONE SYNTHASE and FLAVONOL SYNTHASE in planta, the gene products of which are indispensable for the biosynthesis of flavonols.

The Arabidopsis Transcription Factor MYB12 Is a Flavonol-Specific Regulator of Phenylpropanoid Biosynthesis

Genetic and developmental control of anthocyanin biosynthesis.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/159/3811/161.full.pdf

Paramutation: Directed Genetic Change: Paramutation occurs in somatic cells and heritably alters the functional state of a locus

It was observed about 10 years ago that an R r gene in maize, which conditions anthocyanin formation in seed and plant, invariably has lowered anthocyanin-forming potential following passage through a heterozygote with the stippled ( R nt ) allele. The changed form of R r was gametically transmissible. It reverted toward the standard type when made homozygous, but only partially. This unusual kind of heritable change was termed paramutation. The R r allele in question was said to be paramutable, and the stippled factor was described as paramutagenic ( 1 ). The initial studies revealed that paramutation involved chromosome components that do not conform to the ordinary rules of gene stability and integrity in heterozygotes. Furthermore, the induced heritable changes were directed. R paramutation appeared to be comparable in these respects to certain phenomena reported much earlier in Pisum by Bateson and Pellew ( 2 ), in Malva by Lilienfeld ( 3 ), and in Oenothera by Renner ( 4 ) as anomalous exceptions to Mendelian inheritance. The R case in maize offered advantages for experimental analysis which these other systems lacked, and it has been intensively investigated. The present article is limited to discussion of the R studies, for the most part, but the results appear to be meaningful for paramutation in general. The biological significance of paramutation rests on the fact that the phenomenon involves constraint on gene expression during development of the individual which is exerted by factors located within the chromosome itself. The illuminating advances made in recent decades in characterizing the genetic substance biochemically have disclosed genomic components...

Paramutation: Directed Genetic Change

Two classes of flavonoid pigments commonly found in Zea mays are anthocyanins, which can be produced in almost any tissue, and phlobaphenes, which are found predominantly in the cob and pericarp Chromatographic analysis of genetic stocks shows that the R locus controls the production of anthocyanins and other flavonoids hydroxylated at the 3-position, together with their precursors, and the P locus controls the production of C-glycosylflavones and their precursors; the 3-deoxyanthocyanins, and the phlobaphenes The two pathways are controlled independently, even though there are some precursors common to both pathways A scheme for the genetic control of flavonoid synthesis in maize is presented, and possible mechanisms for the independent control of the two pathways are discussed

The genetic control of flavonoid synthesis in maize

Alleles of the B and R loci collected from different geographic races of maize differ with respect to concentration, pattern, and tissue specificity of anthocyanin formation. No differences were fo...

Developmental differences in action of r and b alleles in maize

Flavonoids from Zea mays pollen

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