Spatial Features and Functional Implications of Plant 3D Genome Organization

Abstract

The advent of high-throughput sequencing-based methods for chromatin conformation, accessibility, and immunoprecipitation assays has been a turning point in 3D genomics. Altogether, these new tools have been pushing upward the interpretation of pioneer cytogenetic evidence for a higher order in chromatin packing. Here, we review the latest development in our understanding of plant spatial genome structures and different levels of organization and discuss their functional implications. Then, we spotlight the complexity of organellar (i.e., mitochondria and plastids) genomes and discuss their 3D packing into nucleoids. Finally, we propose unaddressed research axes to investigate functional links between chromatin-like dynamics and transcriptional regulation within organellar nucleoids.