Calendar Name: seminars
Scheduled for: Monday, December 5 2011, 11:00 - 12:30
Event text: Dr Moritz Nowack
VIB, Dept. of Plant Systems Biology
Ghent University
Gent
BELGIUM
Details: "For neither can live while the other survives: Cell
death during plant reproductive development"
ABSTRACT
Programmed cell death (PCD) comprises a variety of
actively controlled, genetically encoded self-destruct
mechanisms of the cell. While many forms of PCD have
been recognized and meticulously dissected in animals,
to date only little is known about the molecular control
of PCD processes in plants. Nevertheless, plant PCD is
an essential component of a plant�s reaction to its
biotic and abiotic environment, and a central theme
during plant development. Plant reproduction in
particular involves many instances of developmentally
controlled PCD, and tight spatial and temporal control
of PCD in reproductive tissues is crucial for successful
fertilization and seed set.
We are investigating a selection of cell death events in
/Arabidopsis thaliana/ to create knowledge about the
molecular mechanisms that control the initiation and
execution, as well as the prevention of cell death
during plant reproductive development. Candidate PCD
events include abortion of unfertilized ovules, central
endosperm cell death during mid-seed development, and
aleurone cell death during seed germination. To analyze
these small, inaccessible, and intricately connected
tissues, we developed and adapted several forward and
reverse genetics strategies, making the Arabidopsis
reproductive tissues accessible for cutting-edge �omics
approaches. First results on candidate modulators as
well as on the development of ovule and seed specific
genetics, cell biological and genomics tools will be
presented.
