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SUMMARY:Pave the road to land: evolution of water-conducting cells in land
  plants - Bo Xu\, Sam Brockington Lab
DTSTART:20160428T120000Z
DTEND:20160428T123000Z
UID:TALK65488@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:38889
DESCRIPTION:How changes of genetic mechanism led to the innovation of adap
 tive traits during origin of land plants still remain open. One of those q
 uestions is associated with the innovation of specialized cells for water 
 transport\, which enabled the transition from aquatic to terrestrial envir
 onment. Recent researches revealed a group of NAC transcription factors VN
 S (VND/NST/SND) orchestrate the development of xylem cell formation in vas
 cular plants. However\, the evolution of these cells is still unclear. Usi
 ng the moss Physcomitrella patens\, a non-vascular plant species\, by stud
 ying NAC proteins homologous to VNS family in vascular plants\, this resea
 rch elucidated that these genes control the development of water-conductin
 g cell (hydroid) and supporting cell (stereid) by regulating the similar f
 amily genes as their homologues function for xylem cell formation in vascu
 lar plants\, indicating the conservation of VNS-based genetic regulation o
 f water-conducting and supporting cells between moss and vascular plants. 
 In addition\, loss-of-function mutants are more prone to wilting when expo
 sed to the condition with lower humidity\, suggesting the diversification 
 of NAC proteins to induce the specialized cells for more efficient water c
 onduction was a pivotal event for early plants to maintain water balance w
 hen they were first exposed to the dry land.
LOCATION:Department of Plant Sciences\, Large Lecture Theatre
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