Journal Article Review Epublish
PubMed: 40725259 DOI: 10.3390/ijms26147013
Thriving or Withering? Plant Molecular Cytogenetics in the First Quarter of the 21st Century.
Int J Mol Sci 26(14)
Authors: Elzbieta Wolny, Luis A J Mur, Nobuko Ohmido, Zujun Yin, Kai Wang, Robert Hasterok
Affiliations
- Plant Cytogenetics and Molecular Biology Group, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia in Katowice, 40-032 Katowice, Poland.
- Department of Life Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Edward Llwyd Building, Aberystwyth SY23 3DA, UK.
- Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University, Kobe 657-8501, Japan.
- State Key Laboratory of Cotton Bio-Breeding and Integrated Utilization, Institute of Cotton Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang 455000, China. Western Agricultural Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changji 831100, China.
- School of Life Sciences, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China.
Abstract
Nearly four decades have passed since fluorescence in situ hybridisation was first applied in plants to support molecular cytogenetic analyses across a wide range of species. Subsequent advances in DNA sequencing, bioinformatic analysis, and microscopy, together with the immunolocalisation of various nuclear components, have provided unprecedented insights into the cytomolecular organisation of the nuclear genome in both model and non-model plants, with crop species being perhaps the most significant. The ready availability of sequenced genomes is now facilitating the application of state-of-the-art cytomolecular techniques across diverse plant species. However, these same advances in genomics also pose a challenge to the future of plant molecular cytogenetics, as DNA sequence analysis is increasingly perceived as offering comparable insights into genome organisation. This perception persists despite the continued relevance of FISH-based approaches for the physical anchoring of genome assemblies to chromosomes. Furthermore, cytogenetic approaches cannot currently rival purely genomic methods in terms of throughput, standardisation, and automation. This review highlights the latest key topics in plant cytomolecular research, with particular emphasis on chromosome identification and karyotype evolution, chromatin and interphase nuclear organisation, chromosome structure, hybridisation and polyploidy, and cytogenetics-assisted crop improvement. In doing so, it underscores the distinctive contributions that cytogenetic techniques continue to offer in genomic research. Additionally, we critically assess future directions and emerging opportunities in the field, including those related to CRISPR/Cas-based live-cell imaging and chromosome engineering, as well as AI-assisted image analysis and karyotyping.
MeSH
Genome, Cytogenetic Analysis, Research, Cytogenetics, Karyotype, Chromosomes