Plant gene regulation dictates how plants grow under differing environmental conditions, and researchers from the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory are looking at how different genes control light-dependent processes in Arabidopsis thaliana.

This research was recently published in Frontiers in Plant Science.

The study looks at two phytochromes, PhyA and PhyB, and the zinc finger proteins ZFP6 and its closely related zinc finger homolog ZFPH. Phytochromes are proteins that are activated by light. Zinc finger proteins are molecules that activate gene expression. Both have roles in plant photomorphogenesis, or the ways in which a plant develops its shape.

“In this work, we explore how PhyA and PhyB, ZFP6 and ZFPH interact and control plant growth and development, as well as gene expression in Arabidopsis plants,” said Keni Cota-Ruiz, first author of the study and postdoctoral researcher in the Montgomery lab.

To read the full story, visit the College of Natural Science website.