Nir Ohad: "The Role of an Epigenetic Mechanism in Regulating Plant Stem cells"

Nir Ohad
Dep. Of Plant Sciences, Tel-Aviv University

The Role of an Epigenetic Mechanism in Regulating Plant Stem cells

Plant life alternates between a diploid sporophytic to a haploid gametophytic phases. This transition is regulated by the Holcomb group complex (PcG), which catalyzes histone methylation, facilitating epigenetic control of gene expression profiles. Our study of the moss Physcomitrella patens a representative of early terrestrial plants, which allows simple and efficient targeted gene replacement, reveal that the PcG complex control stem cell development. Further more our results indicate that the PcG machinery was harnessed at the onset of the evolution of alternating generations to regulate and facilitate the establishment of the sporophytic program, and that this mechanism has been conserved through plant evolution.