10.07.2012

Tuesday, July 10, 10:15, Seminar room 8A23, Auf der Morgenstelle 28

<strong>Joanne Lee</strong>, University of Melbourne Austrialia, “Regulation of shoot apical meristem and cotyledon formation by SEUSS and SEUSS-LIKE 2 in Arabidopsis."

Abstract
Plant growth is dependent on the continued production of new organs and tissues from the shoot
apical meristem (SAM), a stem cell-containing tissue located at the growing shoot tip. In
Arabidopsis, the SEUSS (SEU) and SEUSS-LIKE (SLK1-3) proteins are partially redundant
components of a transcriptional regulatory complex that promotes post-embryonic SAM
maintenance. These genes also play important roles during embryogenesis, as seu slk2 embryos
fail to form a SAM and have defects in cotyledon development. Through expression analysis, yeast
two-hybrid assays and transgenic rescue experiments, we have identified roles for SEU and SLK2
in the regulation of KNOX transcription factors and auxin distribution, and present a model in which
these proteins act through multiple pathways to regulate various aspects of plant development.