Anil Grover

Friday Seminar | 02-02-24 @ 3:30 PM


 
 
 
FRIDAY Seminar
Category: General

 

 

TOPIC: HY5 genes in rice: The regulators of light mediated development

SPEAKER: Akanksha Bhatnagar

VENUE: DPMB Seminar Room

DATE & TIME: 02 February 2024 @ 03:30 PM

 

ABSTRACT

Light acts as a stimulus initiating different developmental pathways in plants enabling them to adapt to the changing environmental conditions. The mechanism by which light brings about the desired phenotypic changes in plants is complex. However, elucidation of these mechanisms will help in improving crop yield and generating climate smart rice crops able to adapt to changing environmental conditions in the future. HY5 is one of the most well characterized bZIP transcription factor in plants which has been genetically defined as the master regulator of photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis. In rice, three orthologs of HY5 have been predicted i.e., OsbZIP1, OsbZIP48 and OsbZIP18. Two AtHY5 homologs in rice can functionally complement Athy5 mutant and their ectopic expression in rice leads to a semi-dwarf phenotype. Further, one of them has an alternatively spliced form which lacks the COP1 binding domain and regulates skotomorphogenesis. They are involved in regulation of plant height, leaf length, seedling development and fertility. They are suitable candidate genes for improvement of crop yield by alleviating lodging in rice. All the three orthologs of HY5 in rice seem to have undergone neofunctionalization and form a complex regulatory network to regulate light-mediated development in rice seedlings as well as adult plants.