Seminar: Rita A. Batista
A journey through plant reproduction: from seed development to self-incompatibility
systems
Rita A. Batista
(CNRS/University of Lille - France)
During this talk, I will take you through different stages of plant reproduction and share with you the main findings of my PhD and postdoc projects. In the first part of the talk, I will highlight the importance of auxin in Arabidopsis seed formation. I will illustrate how this hormone functions as a fertilisation-coupled switch that initiates seed development, as well as a master regulator that synchronises the development of different seed components, namely the endosperm and seed coat.
In the second part, I will introduce you to a set of peculiar structures that resemble canonical miRNAs, and which are essential for the functioning of self-incompatibility systems in Brassicaceae. I will focus on the molecular features of these structures and explore the mechanisms through which they control the expression of genes necessary for self-incompatibility. Furthermore, I will reflect on the evolutionary trajectory of these structures, with a particular emphasis on their origin and subfunctionalisation, with the aim of shedding a light on the evolution of miRNAS.
Invitation HERE.
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