Regulation of Flower Maturation

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Regulation of flower maturationThis project is to study mechanisms by which flowers mature in the model plant Arabidopsis. Mutant plants deficient in two transcriptional regulators called ARF6 and ARF8 have flowers that arrest their growth at an immature stage, and these flowers therefore remain as closed buds that are infertile. Low light conditions also cause arrest at a similar stage, suggesting that light might regulate flower maturation through ARF6 and ARF8. To explore in mechanistic detail how flower maturation is regulated, Dr. Reed will first establish precise light conditions that allow us to control flower maturation. He will then examine how these light conditions affect abundance of ARF6 and ARF8 proteins, and expression of the genes encoding them. Finally, he will examine the role of a naturally occurring small RNA molecule called miR167 (micro-RNA 167) that is predicted to regulate ARF6 and ARF8 translation or transcript stability. H e will measure the level of miR167 under various light conditions, examine in which tissues it is active against a reporter gene construct, and determine the effect on flower maturation of overproducing miR167 or of rendering ARF6 immune to its activity. Genes closely related to ARF6, ARF8, and miR167 are present in monocots, so the regulatory mechanisms revealed in these studies may be common to all flowering plants. Understanding these mechanisms may allow manipulation or improvement of crops with edible flower buds such as broccoli or cloves.