Abstract Detail

Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Evo-Devo)

Kuempers, Britta [1].

Tiny plants with great potential – Understanding growth and reproduction in Duckweed.

Duckweeds are small plants that are floating on fresh water and have a very reduced structure and shape. They do not look like a typical plant with roots, stem and leaves but instead have a leaf-like structure called frond that has some characteristics of both leaf and stem. Some duckweed species have roots, whereas others only consist of the frond. The fronds are shaped like a float or a boat hull depending on the species. They mostly reproduce clonally but can also flower and produce seeds. When they reproduce clonally, a pouch in the frond which contains stem cells, develops a new frond, which grows out of the pouch and eventually detaches. Both the mother and daughter fronds can reproduce further whilst still being attached to each other. There are major knowledge gaps concerning the development of these unusual plants. I am intrigued by their mainly clonal reproduction and am investigating the regulation of the stem cells required to produce daughter fronds. Furthermore, I study how they switch from clonal reproduction to flowering and the underlying genetic regulation. Duckweeds are easy to grow and show a range of unique plant shapes and developmental trajectories, making them a great system to further our understanding of plant stem cell regulation. I am using a combination of traditional anatomical approaches with modern sequencing and cloning techniques to unlock the secrets of these unique plants. This will provide major new insights into how plants have achieved their huge diversity in shape.

1 - University of Exeter, UK, Biosciences, Geoffrey Pope Building, Stocker Road , Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK

Keywords:
Duckweed
meristem
clonal reproduction
development
morphology.

Presentation Type: Poster
Session: P, Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Evo-Devo) Posters
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Tuesday, July 28th, 2020
Time: 5:00 PM Time and date to be determined
Number: PEV005
Abstract ID:454
Candidate for Awards:None