Long-range control of tissue-specific expression in Arabidopsis

Gene expression regulation is critical for all living organisms. Functional analyses of genomic architecture have revealed the existence of regulatory elements residing distal to coding sequences. To understand how the combined activity of these regulatory elements affects the temporal and special regulation of gene activity, it is essential to define the constitutive elements of gene regulation. Understanding how this long-distance regulation occurs and uncovering the mechanisms involved in this process are two fundamental unresolved questions in biology. Contrary to the situation in animals, we remain ignorant of the role played by long-distance regulatory sequences in gene expression regulation in plants. The main objective of this study is to identify and characterise the sequences that are involved in the spatial and temporal regulation of gene expression in the experimental model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, and how they are influenced by environmental fluctuations. We will elucidate specific gene function through the targeted manipulation of regulatory elements and genome-wide analyses. This knowledge will be critical to engineer crop species that are better adapted to environmental stress.