Yun-Kuan Liang
Wuhan University
After he earned his PhD degree in Botany from Peking University in 2003, Yun-Kuan immediately joined in the Lancaster Environment Centre for his post-doc training, working on guard cell-based signal transduction with Professor Alistair Hetherington. In September 2006, Yun-Kuan moved to University of Bristol and continued with his study on stomatal function, before he came back to China and set up a research group at Wuhan University in October 2010. His interest is mainly concentrated on the molecular basis of stomatal morphogenesis and movements, with a goal to define and manipulate key genes responsible for important agricultural traits such as crop yield and stress tolerance and ultimately contribute to food security and the environment.
Title of presentation
Understanding the genetic basis of stomatal morphogenesis and function
Authors
Yun-Kuan Liang
State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, Department of Plant Sciences, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Abstract
Each formed by a pair of guard cells, stomata are microscopical pores that play fundamental roles in plant photosynthesis, water use efficiency and stress adaptation. The simple stomatal structure and specialised guard cell anatomy enable plants to respond and adapt to environmental changes rapidly. To identify genetic determinants involved in stomatal formation and maturation, we took advantage of forward genetic approaches and performed focused mutant screens. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of two mutants, lds1 and dsm1. LIPID DROPLETS AND STOMATA 1 (LDS1)/RABC1 (At1g43890) encodes a member of the Rab GTPase family that is involved in regulating lipid droplets (LD) dynamics. The expression of LDS1/RABC1 is coordinated with the different phases of stomatal development. RABC1 physically interacts with SEIPIN2/3, two orthologues of mammalian Seipin, which function in the formation of LD. Disruption of RABC1, RABC1GEF1, or SEIPIN2/3 resulted in aberrantly large LD, severe defects in guard cell vacuole morphology, stomatal movements. DEFORMED STOMATA 1 (DSM1) encodes COBRA-LIKE 7 (COBL7), a plant-specific glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored protein. COBRA-LIKE 7 and its closest homologue, COBL8, are first enriched on the forming cell plates during cytokinesis, and then their subcellular distribution and abundance change are correlated with the progressive stages of stomatal pore formation. Furthermore, we demonstrated that COBL7 plays a predominant and functionally redundant role with COBL8 in stomatal formation through regulating cellulose deposition and ventral wall modification. Our work provides necessary insight into the regulatory mechanisms of stomatal morphogenesis and function in Arabidopsis.
Keywords: stomatal morphogenesis, cellulose, lipid droplets, ventral wall modification, plant development
My Sessions
Understanding the genetic basis of stomatal morphogenesis and function
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Presentation