Plant Genomics

Biography

Biography: Meenu Kapoor

Abstract

Liverworts, hornworts and mosses form a paraphyletic group among bryophytes that diverged early from the lineage that gave rise to flowering plants. Among these, mosses have had a tremendous impact on different ecosystems and climatic conditions during the pre-cambrian era that paved way for colonization of land by animals. Physcomitrella patens occupies a key position among bryophytes between the  green algae  and the vascular plants. Its genomic study prov ides insight into the adaptations made by these plants to withstand extreme environmental conditions that eventually lead to colonization of land by these plants. The “green yeast’, as it is sometimes called, exhibits a high rate of homologous recombination. This, together with the ease of transformation and high regeneration capacity has resulted in emergence of P. patens as a model plant for reverse genetics approaches for gene functions analysis. Exploiting this potential, we have generated stable gene knockout mutants for cytosine DNA methyltransferases, PpCMT and PpDNMT2 and the putative PRC1 component, PpLHP1. Whole  genome  transcriptome analysis has revealed the role of  epigenetic  modifications, such as DNA methylation, in reg  ulating genes/biological pathways affecting cell wall biosynthesis, developmental transition from juvenile to adult phase and abiotic stress tolerance. We provide   genetic   evidence for regulation of apical  cell growth , cell wall loosening and gravitropic response by PpCMT/PpLHP1 comp lex. Protein-protein interaction stud ies reveal other components of PRC1 complex to be possibly involved in these pathways. We also highlight the role of the DNA/RNA methyltransferase, PpDNMT2 in regulating salt and osmotic stress tolerance by affecting biogenesis/stability of specific transfer RNA molecules.