organ formation

 

Maintaining meristems requires balance between stem and daughter cells that feed organ initiation, and is coordinated by transcription and signaling factors. We have identified key genes required for meristem maintenance, embryogenesis and post-embryonic development, and seek to understand how these genes contribute to co-ordinated developmental programs that yield complex, symmetrical organs with broad functions. Considering the diversity of plant architectural forms, the study of organogenesis offers many avenues for deciphering diversity and adapting plasticity according to desired traits, to benefit agricultural productivity and/or plant resilience in Canada.