Understanding and engineering the logic behind plant decisions
Understanding and engineering the logic behind plant decisions
How do plants coordinate complex development when every cell shares identical DNA?
From a single fertilized cell emerges an entire plant, with each specialized cell type reading different parts of the same genetic blueprint. While all cells contain identical DNA sequences, they selectively activate specific genomic regions to fulfill their unique roles.
Our research reveals how plant cells:
By decoding these fundamental processes, we're developing:
How do plants encode environmental experiences in their DNA?
Beyond the static DNA sequence, plants maintain a dynamic layer of epigenetic information that records developmental history and environmental encounters. DNA methylation patterns serve as molecular bookmarks that:
This epigenetic memory system allows plants to respond to recurring stresses more effectively while maintaining genomic stability. However, its dynamic nature presents both challenges and opportunities for engineering.
We're developing synthetic tools to:
Creating plants that learn from their environment
Current genetic engineering approaches often create plants that either:
We're pioneering synthetic systems that enable plants to:
We're developing:
These tools transform fundamental insights into agricultural innovations.