Speaker: Yun Zhou, associate professor of botany and plant pathology in the College of Agriculture at Purdue University

Title: "Transcriptional circuits, cell division dynamics, and meristem development"

Abstract: Multicellular organisms face the fundamental challenge of specifying and maintaining distinct cell fates during continuous cell division and growth. Plant meristems provide a unique system to address this question, as they harbor stem cells that balance self-renewal and differentiation to sustain organogenesis. Our research employs two complementary model systems—the flowering plant Arabidopsis and the fern Ceratopteris—to investigate the mechanisms underlying meristem development and stem cell homeostasis. By integrating time-lapse imaging, computational modeling, biochemical analyses, molecular genetics, and transcriptomics, we have uncovered regulatory circuits involving key transcription factors and microRNAs that determine gene expression patterns and cell behaviors in Arabidopsis shoot apical meristems and the multicellular meristems of Ceratopteris gametophytes. Additionally, we examine the dynamics of cell division and growth during the initiation and proliferation of stem cell niches. This talk will also highlight our findings on conserved and lineage-specific mechanisms driving meristem cell proliferation across species and life cycle stages, offering insights into the evolution and regulation of meristems in land plants.

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