Developmental Physiology Developmental Physiology Lab. Welcome to the Developmental Physiology Lab. During their life cycle, plants develop organs with various morphologies and functions, such as leaves, stems, roots and flowers, according to their in genetic program. The processes of growth, differentiation and morphogenesis are meticulously controlled by various genes. The main objective of our laboratory is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying these processes which could lead to new technologies, which in turn, may help to the improve the productivity and quality of crops.
Transcription factors play a central role in the control of morphogenesis and organogenesis.
Our interest lies in the functional characterization of zinc-finger transcription factors. So far we have isolated several of them from petunia and are in the process of understanding their respective functional significance. In wild type petunias, the LIF gene expresses specifically at the bottom of axillary buds formed in the axil of leaves. Therefore, we believe that LIF plays a key role in the control of branching. The branching in plants is an important factor that could greatly influence crop productivity, efficiency of crop cultivation, as well as value of a variety of ornamental plants.