Research Statement

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Our lab studies the molecular genetics of seed development. Our current focus is on development of the endosperm. Endosperm is an important component of the seed because it provides nutrients and developmental signals to the embryo during seed development. Furthermore, endosperm is an important source of food, feed, and industrial raw materials. Approximately two-thirds of human calories are derived from endosperm. Our goal is to understand the molecular processes controlling endosperm development. We are taking three complementary approaches: forward genetics, reverse genetics, and genomics. For these studies, we are using the model genetic organism Arabidopsis thaliana. In forward-genetics screens, we identified several Type I MADS domain transcription factors important for endosperm development. Two of these are AGL80 and AGL62. AGL80 is expressed in the central cell and regulates the expression of genes necessary for central cell and early endosperm development (Portereiko et al., 2006). AGL62 regulates cellularization during early endosperm development (Kang et al., 2008). A current focus in the lab is analysis of additional Type I MADS box genes regulating endosperm development. Using genomics approaches, we identified a large collection of genes expressed in the central cell and endosperm (Steffen et al., 2007). Many of the identified genes encode transcription factors and we currently are using the reverse-genetics resources available for Arabidopsis to determine the functions of these genes.