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SUMMARY:Increasing the rice bundle sheath chloroplast compartment by manip
 ulating brassinosteroid signalling - Dr Lee Cackett\, Plant Physiology and
  Symbiosis Group\, Department of Plant Sciences
DTSTART:20231019T111500Z
DTEND:20231019T124500Z
UID:TALK206305@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:116479
DESCRIPTION:In the leaves of C3 rice\, mesophyll cells (MCs) have a signif
 icantly greater chloroplast compartment than leaf bundle sheath cells (BSC
 s) and are the primary location for photosynthesis. In contrast\, plants t
 hat use the more efficient C4 photosynthesis pathway have large chloroplas
 t compartments in both MCs and BSCs. Engineering of rice BS chloroplasts s
 uch that they are larger and more abundant has the potential to drive a mo
 ve to a C4-like photosynthetic state and improve photosynthetic efficiency
 . Targeting plant hormones such as brassinosteroids is one potential way t
 o alter chloroplast development. In the work presented here\, treatment of
  rice with brassinazole (a BR biosynthesis inhibitor) resulted in smaller 
 but more abundant chloroplast in the BSCs. Additionally\, constitutive and
  BSC-specific overexpression of OsBZR1\, the primary transcription factor 
 downstream of BRs\, resulted in an increased BSC chloroplast size of up to
  28%. Both results indicate a novel role for BRs in modulating chloroplast
  development which could be harnessed for downstream engineering.
LOCATION:Large Lecture Theatre\, Department of Plant Sciences
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