Light and temperature shape nuclear architecture and gene expression

•Arabidopsis and rice genomes exhibit diversity in chromatin organization in three-dimension.•Light triggers changes in genome topology and transcriptional activity.•Plant photoreceptors control nuclear morphology and chromatin architecture.•Temperature fluctuations modify local chromatin structure and transcriptional activity. Environmental stimuli play a major role in modulating growth and development throughout the life-cycle of a plant. Quantitative and qualitative variations in light and temperature trigger changes in gene expression that ultimately shape plant morphology for adaptation and survival. Although the phenotypic and transcriptomic basis of plant responses to the constantly changing environment have been examined for decades, the relationship between global changes in nuclear architecture and adaption to environmental stimuli is just being uncovered. This review presents recent discoveries investigating how changes in light and temperature trigger changes in chromatin structure and nuclear organization with a focus on the role of gene repositioning and chromatin accessibility in regulating gene expression.