Project description:This experiment aimed to investigate which genes are involved in the early photomorphogenic root development of dark grown roots when only the shoot was exposed to light.
Project description:Injured plant somatic tissues regenerate themselves by establishing the shoot or root meristems. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) a two-step culture system ensures regeneration by first promoting the acquisition of pluripotency and subsequently specifying the fate of new meristems. Although previous studies have reported the importance of phytohormones auxin and cytokinin in determining the fate of new meristems, it remains elusive whether and how the environmental factors influence this process. In this study, we investigated the impact of light signals on shoot regeneration using Arabidopsis hypocotyl as explants. We found that light signals promote shoot regeneration while inhibiting root formation. ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5), the pivotal transcriptional factor in light signaling, plays a central role in this process by mediating the expression of key genes controlling the fate of new meristems. Specifically, HY5 directly represses root development genes and activates shoot meristem genes, leading to the establishment of shoot progenitor from pluripotent callus. We further demonstrated that the early activation of photosynthesis is critical for shoot initiation, and this is transcriptionally regulated downstream of the HY5-dependent pathways. In conclusion, we uncovered the intricate molecular mechanisms by which light signals control the establishment of new meristem through the regulatory network governed by HY5, thus, highlighting the influence of light signals on plant developmental plasticity.
Project description:Nitrogen and light are two major regulators of plant metabolism and development. While genes involved in the control of each of these signals have begun to be identified, regulators that integrate gene responses to nitrogen and light signals have yet to be determined. Here, we evaluate the role of bZIP1, a transcription factor involved in light and nitrogen sensing, by exposing wild-type (WT) and bZIP1 T-DNA null mutant plants to a combinatorial space of N and L treatment conditions. We use ANOVA analysis combined with clustering and Boolean modeling, to evaluate the role of bZIP1 in mediating L and N signaling genome-wide.
Project description:Red light can affect a variety of responses in Arabidopsis. We characterize the early gene expression patterns of roots exposed to 1 hour of red light. Early genes indicate elements involved in photomorphogenesis, chloroplast development, PAL pathways, root hair development are regulated by 1 hour of red light We used microarrays to detail the gene expression underlying the effects of red light on roots. Keywords: treatment