Active projects
Regulation of monoterpene indole alkaloid biosynthesis in idioblast.
Monoterpene indole alkaloids (MIA) are a group of specialized metabolites produced by a subset of lineages within the Asterid clade of eudicots, including Catharanthus roseus, the source of chemotherapeutic agent vinblastine. Vinblastine is only produced and stored in a rare cell type termed "idioblast", which accounts for 2-4% of cells in the leaf. We are working on identifying regulatory mechanisms (e.g., transcription factors and chromatin) that confer cell type specificity of vinblastine biosynthesis in the idioblast. Regulation of specialized metabolism at specific organs, tissues, and cell type is central for connecting the chemistry of natural products to their ecological functions at the organismal level. We also believe that understanding such regulation will faciliate metabolic engineering efforts across multicellular organisms, including crops and medicinal plants. Read more about single cell omics for MIA biosynthesis and gene regulation in idioblast.
Foliar embryogenesis and unlocking totipotency.
Plant cells are totipotent, meaning individual cells have the potential to develop into a full organism, a property unique to the zygote for animals. However, in most species for most cells, plant cells are not spontaneously totipotent, since they must be treated with specific hormone combinations to unlock their totipotency. Species within the Kalanchoe genus is unique as they spontaneously develop foliar embryos that are fully realized plantlets with shoot and root from notches along the edges of leaves. We speculate that the progenitor cells that give rise to these foliar embryos are totipotent, and we are using single cell techniques to identify & characterize them. In addition to being a fundamental process for plant biology, we foresee unlocking totipotency has many biotechnological applications, such as faciliating genetic transformation and the development of synthetic organs of biomanufacturing.