Remko Offringa
Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, The Netherlands
Title: Plant Rejuvenation: From Somatic Embryogenesis to Polycarpy
Host: Stéphanie Robert
Plants have an extraordinary ability to modify their developmental programs in response to environmental conditions. This developmental flexibility is driven by stem cell niches (meristems), which are established during embryogenesis and become active after germination. It is also reflected in the remarkable regenerative capacity of somatic plant cells, which can rejuvenate and acquire a pluripotent—or even totipotent—state following hormone treatment or the overexpression of specific morphogenic regulators, such as BABY BOOM (BBM) and WUSCHEL (WUS).
In my presentation, I will discuss the broad role of a newly identified morphogenic regulator in Arabidopsis, AT-HOOK MOTIF NUCLEAR LOCALIZED 15 (AHL15), in plant rejuvenation. Elevated expression of AHL15 not only induces the formation of somatic embryos from differentiated cells, but also extends the juvenile phase, delays leaf senescence, and enables monocarpic, herbaceous Arabidopsis to flower multiple times (polycarpy) while exhibiting increased woody characteristics.