Functional specificity of two closely related bHLH transcription factors during stomatal development in grasses (B11*)

• Subject Area: Plant Cell and Developmental Biology
• Term: Funded in 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 232631280

Two closely related transcription factors determine the two morphological hallmarks of grass stomata; BdMUTE recruits SCs and guides GC precursor division, while BdFAMA orchestrates GC differen-tiation and morphogenesis. Yet, how BdMUTE executes distinct functions in the GC and SC lineage and which developmental programs are specifically controlled by BdMUTE and BdFAMA in the GC lineage is completely unknown. We will decode the functional specificity of BdMUTE and BdFAMA in developing GCs by applying microscopy, gas-exchange physiology, transcriptomics and develop-mental genetics in the model grass Brachypodium distachyon.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1101: Molecular Encoding of Specificity in Plant Processes
• International Connection: Switzerland
• Applicant Institution: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Michael Raissig