Organisation of plant nucleus and nuclear activity
Lead Research Organisation:
John Innes Centre
Department Name: UNLISTED
Abstract
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Technical Summary
The research objective is aimed at understanding the relationship between the information contained within the genome of plants and the cellular machinery which interprets and uses this information. One objective is how gene transcription, post transcriptional processing and splicing of transcribed RNAs are organized within the nucleus in interphase and as a function of development. This encompasses both transcription and splicing of pol II transcribed genes, and of pol I transcribed rRNA genes, as well as the expression of introduced transgenes. Another major focus is a collaborative project with Graham Moore’s group aimed at understanding meiotic homologue pairing, in particular the mechanism of Ph1, which controls the specificity of pairing in wheat and which is a major factor restricting the introgression of novel traits into wheat from related species by plant breeding. A further objective relates to the nucleolus and related sub-nuclear bodies, particularly Cajal bodies, which are involved in snRNA and siRNA metabolism, and which we have shown are mobile, dynamic structures. The approach used is highly multidisciplinary, using techniques of molecular biology and proteomics/mass spectrometry to analyze the genes, transcripts and proteins, 3-D confocal microscopy and electron microscopy for structural analysis, and computer image processing for improvement (restoration) of incomplete and noisy images and for analysis and interpretation of complex 3-D data sets. These studies are being carried out using wheat and related cereals, because of their large nuclei, relatively good cytology and importance as crop plants, and Arabidopsis because of its excellent genetic and genomic resources, but the research is generic and relates equally to other species of economic importance.
Planned Impact
unavailable
Organisations
Publications
Alabdullah AK
(2019)
A Co-Expression Network in Hexaploid Wheat Reveals Mostly Balanced Expression and Lack of Significant Gene Loss of Homeologous Meiotic Genes Upon Polyploidization.
in Frontiers in plant science
Calder G
(2015)
An optical imaging chamber for viewing living plant cells and tissues at high resolution for extended periods.
in Plant methods
Colas I
(2010)
Mass spectrometry in plant proteomic analysis
in Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology
Draeger T
(2020)
Dmc1 is a candidate for temperature tolerance during wheat meiosis.
in TAG. Theoretical and applied genetics. Theoretische und angewandte Genetik
Dvorácková M
(2010)
AtTRB1, a telomeric DNA-binding protein from Arabidopsis, is concentrated in the nucleolus and shows highly dynamic association with chromatin.
in The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology
Greer E
(2012)
The Ph1 locus suppresses Cdk2-type activity during premeiosis and meiosis in wheat.
in The Plant cell
Kim SH
(2009)
Aberrant mRNA transcripts and the nonsense-mediated decay proteins UPF2 and UPF3 are enriched in the Arabidopsis nucleolus.
in The Plant cell
Kim SH
(2010)
Plant U13 orthologues and orphan snoRNAs identified by RNomics of RNA from Arabidopsis nucleoli.
in Nucleic acids research
Koroleva O.A.
(2009)
Localisation of eIF4A-III in the nucleolus and splicing speckles is an indicator of plant stress
in Plant Signaling and Behavior
| Description | We have shown 1. The Ph1 recombination phenotype in wheat is due to changes in expression of a copy of the zip4 gene. 2. That changes in transcript profile in early wheat meiosis are surprisingly small and are independent of synapsis, ploidy level and the Ph1 locus. 3. Magnesium has an effect on crossover frequency in some lines of wheat hybrids. |
| Exploitation Route | These results are of potential importance in commercial wheat breeding. |
| Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink |