Abstract Detail

Kaplan Memorial Lecture - Neelima Sinha

Sinha, Neelima [1], Chitwood, Dan [2], Ichihashi, Yasunori [3], Ostria-Gallardo, Enrique [4], Zumstein, Kristina [1], Rowland, Steven [1].

Heteroblasty and Heterophylly – when two programs collide.

How morphological diversity has arisen is a key question in biology. Angiosperms exhibit a great diversity in leaf shape and leaf development has been characterized in several species, making leaves ideal targets to understand the mechanism behind morphological natural variation. Leaves are also functionally significant for generating biomass and leading to agricultural yield. We have deduced a gene co-expression network underlying leaf development in tomato and its relatives. Molecular experiments and hypothesis testing validated the bioinformatically predicted GRN and identified key components, such as BLADE-ON-PETIOLE (BOP), within the gene network module regulating leaf shape. Alteration in BOP expression by transgenic experiments in tomato, S. pennellii and S. habrochaites, can recreate naturally occurring leaf phenotypes in the tomato species complex. In addition to evolutionary and developmental variability, leaves also exhibit phenotypic plasticity. We are analyzing gene expression alterations when leaf complexity changes in response to either developmental time or environmental perturbations to determine what common features are shared between these two diverse programs.

1 - University of California, Davis, Plant Biology, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
2 - Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO, USA
3 - RIKEN, Yokohama, Japan
4 - Universidad de la Frontera, Laboratorio Fisiologí­a y Biologí­a Molecular Vegetal, Casilla 54-D, Chile

Keywords:
none specified

Presentation Type: Special Presentation
Session: S6, Kaplan Memorial Lecture
Location: Oglethrope Auditorium/Savannah International Trade and Convention Center
Date: Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016
Time: 3:30 PM
Number: S6001
Abstract ID:951
Candidate for Awards:None