As the world population continues to grow, so too does the demand for more and better quality food. The main challenges are the negative effects of global climate change, which is reducing the amount of available arable land, so modern agricultural practices are searching for solutions that would ensure a reliable food supply and contribute to sustainable development in the world. Epigenetics, a branch of genetics that studies alterations in gene expression that are not related to changes in the DNA sequence, may be one of the possible solutions for improving food yields that are continuously affected by climate change. Epigenetic changes are often heritable and can modulate plant growth and crop tolerance in response to environmental stimuli. This thesis describes epigenetic mechanisms, specifically DNA methylation, histone modifications and transposon elements that regulate chromatin structure. There is an overview of tools and approaches used to induce epigenetic modifications for crop improvement. In addition, approaches to modify the plant epigenome, such as tissue culture techniques, mutations, grafting, chemical treatments and approaches involving biotic and abiotic stresses, as well as RNA-based molecular techniques such as RNA-interference and CRISPR technology, are summarized. Lastly, possible solutions to the challenges and their future applications are briefly presented.
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