Admission Procedure - Ph.D.

Friday Seminar by Ms. Ridhi Khurana


SK Lab/ Friday/ April 27, 2018/3.30pm/ Role of Auxins in Post-Fertilization Development in Plants
Category: Research

Role of Auxins in Post-Fertilization Development in Plants

Ridhi Khurana

 

Embryogenesis evolved in early diverging land plants around 500 Mya and the presence of embryo is crucial for plant reproduction. It establishes the body plan of plants. Fertlization of the egg cell by the pollen-derived sperm cell acts as a trigger for zygotic embryogenesis. The early stages of embryogenesis, from globular to the octant stage as highly conserved in flowering plants. The developmental pattern differs after the octant stage in between species and within the same species as well. The molecular factors governing these embryonic division and differentiation patterns are tightly regulated as the precursors of plant tissue types get established. Auxins play a crucial role in determining the cell fates in developing embryos, from establishing the polarity to defining cell type specification. This has been shown using embryonic markers and auxin responsive reporters for auxin accumulation, transport and signalling. Auxin levels increase after fertilization and turn on not only the embryo development but also that of the suspensor and endosperm. How auxins orchestrate these developmental programs via different regulatory pathways and will be discussed in today’s talk.