背景回顾：cis-Regulatory elements encode the genomic blueprints that ensure the proper spatiotemporal patterning of gene expression necessary for appropriate development and responses to the environment. Accumulating evidence implicates changes to gene expression as a major source of phenotypic novelty in eukaryotes, including acute phenotypes such as disease and cancer in mammals. Moreover, genetic and epigenetic variation affecting cis-regulatory sequences over longer evolutionary timescales has become a recurring theme in studies of morphological divergence and local adaption. 

主要综述：Here, we discuss the functions of and methods used to identify various classes of cis-regulatory elements, as well as their role in plant development and response to the environment. We highlight opportunities to exploit cis-regulatory variants underlying plant development and environmental responses for crop improvement efforts. Although a comprehensive understanding of cis-regulatory mechanisms in plants has lagged in animals, we showcase several breakthrough findings that have profoundly influenced plant biology and shaped the overall understanding of transcriptional regulation in eukaryotes.

顺式调控元件编码了一份基因组蓝图，用于确保发育和环境响应必要基因在合适的时空下进行表达。越来越到的证据表明，基因表达的改变是真核生物中表型新颖性的一个主要来源，比如说哺乳动物中的一些诸如疾病和癌症等急性表型。此外，在更长的演化时间尺度上，影响顺式调控序列的遗传和表观变异已经在形态分化和地域适应研究中成为一个不断出现的主题。本文中，作者讨论了用于鉴定不同类别顺式调控元件的方法，以及这些顺式调控元件在植物发育和环境响应中的作用。作者突出强调了利用潜在影响植物发育和环境响应的顺式调控变体，用于促进作物改良。尽管对于植物顺式调控机制的理解落后于动物，但是作者展示了几个深刻影响植物生物学的突破性发现，这些发现同时也塑造了我们对真核生物转录调控的整体理解。

** Nathan M. Springer **