Research Projects

Histones are essential proteins in packaging nuclear DNA in eukaryotic cells, organizing the genome into condensed or loosely organized chromatin. Chromatin undergoes significant variations throughout the cell cycle, with post-translational modifications (PTM) playing a crucial role. Paralogous variants of canonical histones in chromatin are now attributed to specific functions, providing additional layers of chromatin regulation. The rice genome was probed for novel histone coding genes, revealing an atypical histone H4 variant that expresses significantly in a tissue-specific manner across developmental stages. This variant is hypothesized to be new paradigms adding to plants' repertoire of epigenetic regulatory layers. Investigation using mutiple genetics and genomic approaches is being attempted to identify crucial roles of this histone variant in development and stress responses.