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UID:20260610T233231EDT-54787mRmI0@132.216.98.100
DTSTAMP:20260611T033231Z
DESCRIPTION:4 O'Clock Forum continues this year's seminar series with a tal
 k by Dr. Edgar Demesa-Arevalo\, Post Doctoral Fellow\, Cold Spring Harbor
 \n\nFood security represent a big challenge nowadays\, due to the dramatic
  increase of population and climate change the land extensions destined to
  produce crops has been reduced and increasing crops yields is one alterna
 tive to solve this problem. Maize is one of the most important crops world
 wide and has been used not only as an agronomic model but also as a genomi
 c\, physiological\, genetic and developmental model. To increase seed prod
 uction in corn\, we need to understand the molecular basis behind this pro
 cess. The seeds are nurtured in the female inflorescence\, once the female
  flowers are pollinated. Inflorescence development is tightly regulated\, 
 and variation in cob shapes can be explained by alterations in regulatory 
 circuits of meristem maintenance. The core mechanism is highly conserved a
 cross species. However\, the particularities of each plant have evolved va
 riations to guarantee the proper function of  inflorescence meristems. CLE
  peptides are the signaling molecules perceived in the stem cell niche to 
 establish a balance between proliferation and differentiation. In Arabidop
 sis\, CLAVATA3 (CLV3) is the main peptide involved in this process\, while
  its ortholog in maize was not clear. Using a novel multi-guide RNA (gRNA)
  CRISPR/Cas9 approach we generate mutations in two closer orthologs to CLV
 3 in maize and other eight maize CLE peptides (ZmCLEs) expressed in merist
 ems. By molecular functional characterization\, we found ZmCLE7 is the ort
 holog to CLV3\, and the lack of this is partially compensated by a second 
 CLE peptide: ZmFCP1. ZmCLE7 mutants showed meristem fasciation or over pro
 liferation\, a trait that\, potentially\, can be fine-tuned to increase th
 e space to bear seeds. We are currently characterizing additional ZmCLE mu
 tants\, trying to identify if these compensation mechanisms are regulating
  other meristematic entities in corn. Additionally\, we are targeting othe
 r gene families that might be involve in suppressing meristem determinacy\
 ; we can generate quadruple mutants using our multi-guide arrays. The  stu
 dy of meristem regulation has allowed us to discover and shape new agronom
 ical traits that can contribute to increase crop yield in cereals.\n\nABOU
 T THE SPEAKER:\n\nDr. Edgar Demesa-Arevalo started his scientific training
  doing his BSc thesis in the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of t
 he National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV-IPN) in Mexico City\, trying 
 to understand the establishment of symbiotic mycorrhizas. He did his Ph.D.
  in CINVESTAV campus Irapuato (México) under the mentorship of Jean-Philip
 pe Vielle-Calzada\, identifying the nature of the signals involved in the 
 vegetative to reproductive phase in Arabidopsis. Later\, he joined Dave Ja
 ckson’s Lab in Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (USA)\, focusing his research
  on two main topics\, the establishment of transgenic lines as a resource 
 for maize community and investigating the molecular mechanisms involved in
  meristem regulation in maize. He also optimized a multiple-sgRNA array fo
 r CRISPR/Cas9 in maize\, widely used in maize community nowadays.\n
DTSTART:20191121T210000Z
DTEND:20191121T210000Z
LOCATION:R3-048\, Raymond Building\, CA\, QC\, St Anne de Bellevue\, H9X 3V
 9\, 21111 Lakeshore Road
SUMMARY:4 O'Clock Forum: Unveiling genetic redundancy mechanisms in develop
 mental regulatory circuits by genome edition in maize
URL:https://www.mcgill.ca/macdonald/channels/event/4-oclock-forum-unveiling
 -genetic-redundancy-mechanisms-developmental-regulatory-circuits-genome-30
 2636
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