Seminar: Genetic conflicts and seed development

Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
31 1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 1 2 3 4
Date/Time:Tuesday, 09 Nov 2021 from 4:10 pm to 5:00 pm
Location:1414 Molecular Biology
Cost:Free
Contact:Danise Jones
Phone:515-294-2687
Channel:Research
Categories:Lectures
Actions:Download iCal/vCal | Email Reminder
Join us to hear Dr. Mary Gehring, Associate Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, discuss her latest results on the divergent roles for maternal and paternal RNA Pol IV during seed development and the basis for dosge sensitivity in Arabidopsis endosperm.

Synopsis: Plant seeds contain a diploid embryo and a triploid endosperm, an embryo-nourishing tissue. Endosperm has a 2:1 maternal:paternal genomic ratio and is sensitive to alterations of this ratio. Because the endosperm acquires resources from a purely maternal tissue, the maternal and paternal genomes in the developing endosperm may be in conflict over the preferred extent of maternal resource transfer. In Arabidopsis, crosses between diploid females and tetraploid males result in about 85% seed abortion, depending on the genetic strain and environmental conditions. We have previously shown that paternal inheritance of mutations in NRPD1 largely suppress interploidy seed abortion in Arabidopsis. NRPD1 encodes the largest subunit of RNA Pol IV, a plant specific RNA Polymerase responsible for the production of small RNAs that direct DNA methylation. We will describe our latest results on the divergent roles for maternal and paternal RNA Pol IV during seed development and the basis for dosage sensitivity in Arabidopsis endosperm.