Final Report for Regulation of Embryonic Development in Higher Plants
- University of California, Davis
The overall goal of the project was to define the cellular processes that underlie embryo development in plants at a mechanistic level. Our studies focused on a critical transcriptional regulator, Arabidopsis LEAFY COTYLEDON (LEC1), that is necessary and sufficient to induce processes required for embryo development. Because LEC1 regulates lipid accumulation during the maturation phase of embryo development, information about LEC1 may be useful in designing approaches to enhance biofuel production in plants. During the tenure of this project, we determined the molecular mechanisms by which LEC1 acts as a transcription factor in embryos. We also identified genes directly regulated by LEC1 and showed that many of these genes are involved in maturation processes. This information has been useful in dissecting the gene regulatory networks controlling embryo development. Finally, LEC1 is a novel isoform of a transcription factor that is conserved among eukaryotes, and LEC1 is active primarily in seeds. Therefore, we determined that the LEC1-type transcription factors first appeared in lycophytes during land plant evolution. Together, this study provides basic information that has implications for biofuel production.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- Contributing Organization:
- University of California, Davis
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG02-03ER15392
- OSTI ID:
- 1097049
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-UCD-15392-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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