Plant epigenetics: What it is and role in herbal field

Plant epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression that do not involve changes to the DNA sequence itself. These changes are often triggered by environmental conditions and can affect plant development, stress responses, and adaptation. Epigenetics plays a crucial role in how plants regulate gene activity over time and across generations. Unlike animals, plants can pass on epigenetic information more frequently through both mitosis and meiosis. Epigenetics plays a vital role in plant biology by regulating gene expression without altering the DNA sequence. This allows plants to respond flexibly and efficiently to both internal developmental signals and external environmental conditions. In this article, the significance of plant epigenetics is explained in the fields of herbals, drug discovery and applications in crop improvement.