Environmental stresses such as salinity, drought, heat, freezing, heavy metal and even pathogen infections seriously threaten the growth and yield of important cereal crops including wheat and barley. There is growing evidence indicating that plants employ sophisticated epigenetic mechanisms to fine-tune their responses to environmental stresses. Here, we provide an overview of recent developments in understanding the epigenetic processes and elements-such as DNA methylation, histone modification, chromatin remodeling, and non-coding RNAs-involved in plant responses to abiotic and biotic stresses in wheat and barley. Potentials of exploiting epigenetic variation for the improvement of wheat and barley are discussed.
Keywords: DNA methylation; abiotic and biotic stress; barley; chromatin remodeling; epigenetic; histone modification; non-coding RNAs; wheat.