Plant intra-individual and inter-individual variation can be determined by the epigenome, a set of covalent modifications of DNA and chromatin that can alter genome structure and activity without changes to the genome sequence. The epigenome of plant cells is plastic, that is, it can change in response to internal or external cues, such as during development or due to environmental changes, to create a memory of such events. Ongoing advances in technologies to read and write epigenomic patterns with increasing resolution, scale and precision are enabling the extent of plant epigenome variation to be more extensively characterized and functionally interrogated. In this Review, we discuss epigenome dynamics and variation within plants during development and in response to environmental changes, including stress, as well as between plants. We review known or potential functions of such plasticity and emphasize the importance of investigating the causality of epigenomic changes. Finally, we discuss emerging technologies that may underpin future research into plant epigenome plasticity.

植物个体内和个体间的变异可以通过表观基因组来确定，这是一组 DNA 和染色质的共价修饰，可以改变基因组结构和活性而不改变基因组序列。植物细胞的表观基因组是可塑性的，也就是说，它可以响应内部或外部线索而发生变化，例如在发育过程中或由于环境变化，从而产生对此类事件的记忆。随着分辨率、规模和精度的提高，读取和写入表观基因组模式的技术不断进步，使植物表观基因组变异的程度能够得到更广泛的表征和功能研究。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了植物在发育过程中的表观基因组动态和变异，以及对环境变化（包括压力）以及植物之间的反应。我们回顾了这种可塑性的已知或潜在功能，并强调调查表观基因组变化因果关系的重要性。最后，我们讨论了可能支持未来植物表观基因组可塑性研究的新兴技术。