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• Epigenetic regulation of gene expression
• Gene silencing
• Plant molecular development

Research Projects

Our laboratory investigates regulation of gene expression by chromatin modification and developmental timing in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

In a eukaryotic nucleus, the long strands of DNA wrap around histone proteins to form chromatin. Histones can be reversibly modified by acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, sumolation or ubiquitination and these modifications play a regulatory role in gene expression. Currently we are studying how gene expression in Arabidopsis is regulated by chromatin modification such as histone modifications, chromatin remodeling, siRNA-directed silencing modifications and DNA methylation.

We are also interested in developmental timing in plants. The post-embryonic development in most flowering plants occurs in two temporal phases: a vegetative phase and a reproductive phase. The transition from a vegetative to a reproductive phase (i.e. initiation of flowering) is a major developmental switch in the plant life cycle that must be properly timed to ensure maximal reproductive success. Arabidopsis flowering time is genetically controlled by several pathways that monitor its developmental status and environmental cues. FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC), a MADS box transcription factor, plays a central role in the flowering-time regulation in Arabidopsis. FLC expression is repressed by FLOWERING LOCUS D (FLD), a putative histone demethylase. Currently our laboratory is investigating how FLD and other chromatin-modifying components regulate FLC expression using biochemical, molecular and genomic tools.