Speaker: Joshua Gendron, Yale University associate professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology

Title: "Illuminating the plant calendar"

Abstract: Photoperiod, or daylength, is a reliable indicator of the season, and biological organisms have photoperiod measuring systems to align reproduction and growth with the appropriate time of year. Plants are a preeminent system for studying photoperiodism because of their propensity to flower in accordance with the season, but we have recently discovered that there are multiple photoperiod measurement systems in plants controlling a wide variety of genes and cellular processes. This talk will highlight bioinformatics methodologies and genetic tools that allowed us to identify and study the wide array of photoperiod-controlled processes in plants. This is particularly pertinent in the context of climate change which is rapidly disconnecting photoperiod from temperature and water availability, both critical for plant productivity.

Host: Joe Aung, genetics, development and cell biology assistant professor

Lab website: https://gendronlab.yale.edu/

April 19, 2022, GDCB Seminar flyer: Joshua Gendron