Regulation of chloroplast differentiation during sink/source conversion

为阐明植物叶绿体分化与器官发育的协调机制，研究了拟南芥去茎后根系的变绿机制。结果表明，细胞分裂素信号可上调根内光合相关基因，提高根内光合电子传递效率。细胞分裂素信号传导包括上游的一个损伤反应因子和下游的叶绿体相关转录因子。除拟南芥外，其他被子植物如蒲公英（Traxacum officinale）也在去茎后提高了根系的光合效率。进一步分析表明，根系的光合作用对蒲公英茎部的再生至关重要。

To elucidate coordination mechanisms of chloroplast differentiation with organ development in plants, greening mechanisms of Arabidopsis roots after shoot removal were examined. The results revealed that cytokinin signaling upregulates photosynthesis-associated genes and improves photosynthetic electron transport efficiency in roots after shoot removal. The cytokinin signaling involves a wounding-responsive factor in upstream and chloroplast-related transcription factors in downstream. Not only Arabidopsis thaliana, other angiosperms such as Dandelion (Traxacum officinale) also improved photosynthetic efficiency in the root after shoot removal. Further analyses showed that photosynthesis in the root is crucial for regeneration of the shoot in Dandelion.