Epigenetic Modulation of Transcriptional Activities in the Bread Wheat Genome: Dynamic Interplays of H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 under Water Stress

Drought-related dehydration stress adversely affects plant growth and development, thus posing a significant threat to global food security. The genome-wide knowledge of histone modification of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum), one of the critical staple crops providing 19% of global calories and 18% of protein consumption, remains fragmented. This study employs whole-genome ChIP-seq to investigate the epigenetic landscape of bread wheat under a water deprivation experiment, focusing on the active histone mark H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) and the repressive mark H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3). By integrating ChIP-seq and RNA-seq data, we identified differentially marked regions (DMRs) and differentially expressed genes (DEGs), shedding light on their pivotal roles in wheat's adaptive response to water stress.