Gene-specific chromatin architecture changes associates with ethylene induced germination of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill]

The present work aims to specifically evaluate the gene-specific chromatin architecture changes during ethylene (ET) induced germination in soybean [ Glycine max (L.) Merrill]. For the same, soybean seeds were primed with 250 mg l −1 ethephon (Eth; 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid, an ET-releaser) either alone or in combination with 100 µM trichostatin A [TSA; an histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) and global DNA methylation] under prescribed germination conditions. Our results demonstrated that Eth priming induced soybean germination exhibited the global as well as gene-specific chromatin de-condensation of a functional read-out gene, α-amylase 1 ( GmαAMY1 ) alone as well as in combination with TSA, without any significant synergistic effect. Based on these observations, we propose an epigenetic role of ET as a chromatin modulator of germination-specific gene(s), which in turn lead to their corresponding up-regulation and subsequent germination and developmental changes in plants.