Biology professor Scott Poethig published new research on the molecules which control the juvenile to adult transition in plants.
The miR156 molecule is a microRNA that regulates gene expression. Poethig, a developmental biologist, has been studying plant development since he first became fascinated with the subject in graduate school.
In October, Poethig and fellow researcher Aaron Leichty — a former graduate student in Poethig’s lab — published research on over 100 Acacia species in Penn’s greenhouse. Poethig’s investigation involved the plant Arabidopsis, a species in which miR156 plays an important role in the growth of the plant from the juvenile to adult phase.
“We examined this question in the plant genus, Acacia Mill., which contains species that undergo the juvenile-to-adult vegetative transition (vegetative phase change) early in shoot development, as well as species that remain permanently juvenile, or have delayed vegetative phase change,” they wrote in the paper's abstract.
“Mapping the timing of vegetative phase change onto a molecular phylogeny of Acacia revealed that permanent juvenility has evolved multiple times and is sometimes associated with a delay in vegetative phase change in related species," the researchers added.
Poethig noticed that high levels of miR156 were expressed in the plant, which suppressed adult traits from developing. Extending this finding to other plant samples around the world, including ivy and oak from Penn’s campus, he found that miR156 was present and played a role in the growth of plants beyond Arabidopsis.
Poethig and his research team are continuing to investigate the exact genes that regulate plant aging.
“Over the years I’ve made it my goal to convince people that plants are interesting,” Poethig said in an interview with Omnia, the School of Arts and Sciences magazine. “They matter—to you, to me, to the planet.”
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The research into the molecule also sets up the possibility for modifying plants for specific climate needs by regulating plant growth.
Altering miR156, according to the researchers, could additionally make leaves more efficient at photosynthesis, increasing the ease of producing biofuels.
