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SUMMARY:Functional Macroevolution of Transcription Factors in Land Plants 
 - Dr Facundo Romani\, Department of Plant Sciences
DTSTART:20211028T120000Z
DTEND:20211028T130000Z
UID:TALK162097@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Kumari Billakurthi
DESCRIPTION:We use the model liverwort Marchantia polymorpha to understand
  fundamental questions of evolutionary biology. One of the advantages of t
 his model system is its genome presents low redundancy of transcription fa
 ctor genes compared to other plant species. During my PhD thesis\, I studi
 ed the molecular evolution of the class I homeodomain leucine-zipper (C1HD
 Z) in Marchantia polymorpha. In flowering plants\, C1HDZ transcription fac
 tor function is primarily associated with abiotic stress responses. Howeve
 r\, loss-of-function alleles of MpC1HDZ (Mpc1hdzge) did not exhibit phenot
 ypes associated with abiotic stress. Rather\, Mpc1hdzge mutant plants pres
 ent a reduced number of oil body cells as the most remarkable developmenta
 l defect. Oil bodies\, a synapomorphy of liverworts\, are organelles in sp
 ecialized cells that accumulate secondary metabolites\, but their function
  and development are poorly understood. Using these plants\, we interrogat
 ed the biological function of oil bodies. Briefly\, we found Mpc1hdzge are
  more susceptible to herbivory and cannot accumulate terpenoid compounds. 
 Toxic compounds accumulated in oil bodies are an important defence strateg
 y against herbivores\, an analogous function to glandular trichomes in flo
 wering plants. In addition\, C1HDZ genes were co-opted to regulate separat
 e responses to biotic and abiotic stressors in two distinct land plant lin
 eages. Our findings and other works in the field suggest that the expressi
 on pattern of transcription factor expression is key in their functional m
 acroevolution.\n\n\nContact reception@plantsci.cam.ac.uk for a Zoom link p
 rior to a talk if you are not on our mailing list. Due to having to go onl
 ine\, we are restricting the talks to University of Cambridge and alumni t
 o keep them as informal as possible.
LOCATION:Online
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