PHDs govern plant development.

Posttranslational modifications present in the amino-terminal tails of histones play a pivotal role in the chromatin-mediated regulation of gene expression patterns that control plant developmental transitions. Therefore, the function of protein domains that specifically recognize these histone covalent modifications and recruit chromatin remodeling complexes and the transcriptional machinery to modulate gene expression is essential for a proper control of plant development. Plant HomeoDomain (PHD) motifs act as effectors that can specifically bind a number of histone modifications and mediate the activation or repression of underlying genes. In this review we summarize recent findings that emphasize the crucial role of this versatile family of chromatin "reader" domains in the transcriptional regulation of plant developmental processes such as meiosis and postmeiotic events during pollen maturation, embryo meristem initiation and root development, germination as well as flowering time.