ASSOCIATED MAJORS:

1. LIFE SCIENCES AND MEDICINE

• Agriculture
• Biology

PROJECT TITLE:

Hormonal control of ovule and seed number in plants: Gibberellins as key regulators.

PROJECT SUMMARY. Description of activities and objectives:

The formation of ovules and seeds is an essential process in the life cycle of plants, and has a great economic importance by having a direct impact on crop yield. The number of ovules is determined by a complex gene network, involving transcriptional factors, such as ANT and CUCs, and the hormone signaling pathways of brassinosteroids, auxins and cytokinins. Results obtained by our group point to gibberellins as a new key regulator, through the action of the DELLA proteins, in the determination of ovule and seed number in model systems and species of agronomic interest.
In this project we propose to unravel the genetic and molecular mechanism by which the gibberellins regulate ovule initiation. In the plant model system Arabidopsis thaliana we will characterize the role of DELLA proteins and the CUC factors during ovule formation, paying special attention to the identification and description of the direct targets of the DELLA-CUC module in the placenta. Our apporach encompases genetic and molecular approaches, including hight-throughput analysis by RNA-Seq and ChIP-Seq and data mining to identify downstream genes involved on ovule formation. Finally, it is necessary to point out that the initiation and morphogenesis of ovule primordia constitutes an excellent model system for the generation of knowledge in the area of plant development.

http://www.ibmcp.csic.es/es