Post-fertilization embryonic development and patterning are regulated by several hormonal-to-transcriptional signalling mechanisms. How these post-fertilization events are coordinated to produce a viable seed remained obscure. This project proposes to investigate a novel function of two pre-mRNA processing subunits, PRP8A and PRP8B, as integrators of embryo patterning. Embryo development in the single prp8a knockout is defective and arrests at the globular stage (WP1, WP2). Notably, early embryo patterning genes, including key auxin efflux protein PIN7 and WOX transcription factors, are mis-spliced in prp8a globular-arrested embryos. As housing-keeping is the pre-mRNA splicing process, the production of alternatively spliced transcripts increases the complexity of the transcriptome. Our recent data suggest that regulators of alternative splicing (AS) are transcriptionally activated in the high-temperature-treated seeds and that such seeds carry defective embryos. In this project (WP3), we aim at investigating if key genes in the seed thermoresponse are targeted by an altered AS output and how it influences the proper embryo patterning.

Sustainable Development Goals

Masaryk University is committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to improve the conditions and quality of life on our planet by 2030.