RNA splicing control of meristem identity, cell division and differentiation in Arabidopsis.

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Plants and animals control their development, from single cell to complex multicellular organism, by regulating the activities of thousands of genes. Each gene produces an RNA molecule, and at one time it was thought that one RNA molecule contains the information to produce one protein. It has been discovered in recent years that complex organisms can in fact splice sections of a given RNA molecule, to generate alternative versions of the final, mature RNA, and this in turn means that a greater diversity of proteins can be produced from a single gene. This production of a range of spliced versions of RNAs is called alternative splicing, and contributes to the fine level of control to regulate the activities of cells. The mechanism and role of alternative splicing in specific developmental processes is still, however, at a very early stage. We have identified a plant gene, termed MDF, for which we have new information indicating a novel role in regulating RNA splicing to regulate cell identitity and cell division activity in the growing regions of plants, the apical meristems. The project aims to understand which RNAs are spliced by MDF, and how these target RNAs contribute to the complex network of genes regulating the activity of meristems.