PlantFUNCO

PlantFUNCO integrates interspecies chromatin states with functional genomics conservation scores to enable comparative evolutionary epigenomics analyses across Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, and Zea mays.

Key Features:

• Interspecies Chromatin States: Provides detailed chromatin state data across multiple plant species to facilitate study of epigenomic conservation and divergence.
• Functional Genomics Conservation Scores: Includes scores that quantify functional conservation across species to aid identification of conserved genetic functions.
• Integrated Comparative-Genomics Resource: Combines heterogeneous genomic and epigenomic datasets to support inference of evolutionary relationships and cross-species functional agreement.

Scientific Applications:

• Epigenomic contribution to gene regulation: Enables analysis of how non-DNA-encoded alterations affect gene expression regulation, plasticity, and adaptation in plants.
• Paralog functional divergence: Supports assessment of genetic redundancy and prediction of the degree of functional divergence among paralogs.
• Phenotypic validation: Facilitates validation of predictions using phenotypic data from model organisms, including mitochondrial alternative oxidase knockout mutants under stress conditions.

Methodology:

Leverages diverse genomic and epigenomic datasets by analyzing chromatin states and functional genomics conservation scores to extrapolate molecular mechanisms across plant models.