Research Interests
Microbiology, Cell biology
Research Statement
Our research aims to understand the control of cell division and differentiation in model organisms. We study regulatory factors that control the identity plant organs arising from groups of multipotent cells- meristems. We analyze rice transcription factors similar those that control flowering in the model plant Arabidopsis, by adopting genetic, molecular and biochemical tools. Our data elucidate the acquisition of novel functions for evolutionarily conserved factors through alterations in their expression domains. We are investigating the balance between cell proliferation and differentiation in floral organs by studying the targets of these transcription factors. We also study the effects of post-transcriptional processes, such as splicing, on gene expression and cell cycle in the unicellular yeast. Overall, our studies address the regulation cell division and differentiation.
