Webb Group: The role of TOC1 in regulating plant growth
Supervisor
Professor Alex Webb
Brief summary
TIMING OF CHLORPHYLL A/B BINDING PROTEIN EXPRESSION 1 (TOC1) is a gene involved in the circadian clock of Arabidopsis. TOC1 is a transcriptional repressor that peaks at night and regulates a suite of outputs We have new data that TOC1 might participate in the pathways by which plants regulate growth in response to variable light. We now want to understand the mechanism.
Importance of Research
What controls the growth of plants in response to changes in light intensity is essential for understanding the control of biomass accumulation and crop production. Our new finding that TOC1 might participate in the basic mechanisms that regulate growth provide a new window in to understanding the growth control pathway. TOC1 is a transcriptional repressor, and we now want to understand if it is the key regulator, or if downstream targets are what regulate growth. This insight will be of great use to breeders trying to produce bigger plants.
Project Summary
You will investigate the extent to which TOC1 affects growth and discover the changes in gene expression, physiology and metabolism that result in a change in plant growth, The key goal is to understand whether TOC1 directly regulates growth through targeting a key regulator, or if TOC1 is regulating a suite of outputs that collectively impact growth. What will the successful application do? You will grow Arabidopsis wildtype plants, toc1 mutants, toc1 CRISPR lines, TOC1 over expressors and cell-type specific toc1 mutants in a range of lighting conditions to assess the impact of TOC1 on growth. At the same time you will perform mechanistic studies to identify how TOC1 is regulating growth. This will include CHIPseq to identify direct targets, RNAseq to identify pathway changes and studies on metabolism and physiology to investigate how the changes in gene expression are translated to changes in biology.
Training Provided
The student will be provided in training in circadian biology, Arabidopsis genetics, bioinformatics, molecular techniques and physiology.