Project Details
Program
Plant Science
Field of Study
Developmental biology, cell biology
Division
Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering
Faculty Lab Link
Center Affiliation
Center for Desert Agriculture
Project Description
During multicellular development, the specification of distinct cell fates is often regulated by the same transcription factors operating differently in distinct cis-regulatory modules. In the model plant Arabidopsis root, distinct cell types are determined by the interacting transcription factors within one contiguous tissue layer. Using fluorescence lifetime microscopy we revealacell type-specific protein complexes that differentially regulate target genes and instruct distinct cell fates. In addition to determining the network function in other organs, we are currently studying how are these complexes established and maintained by generating a temporal interaction map and dissecting the transcriptional regulation by these complexes.We will use the following tools: FRET-FLIM, confocal microscopy imaging, mutants analysis.
About the Researcher
Ikram Blilou
Professor, Plant Science
Affiliations
Education Profile
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Molecular Genetics, Utrecht University, Netherlands, 1998-2003
- PhD, CSIC and University of Granada, Spain, 1998
- BSc Biology, University Abdelmlek Essadi, Morocco, 1994
Research Interests
Professor Blilou' s research focuses on how plant cells communicate to transfer positional information and to instruct specific functions during pattern formation. This involves studying regulatory networks that control protein movement and asymmetric cell division in plant roots, by mapping protein complexes in vivo at the cellular resolution, and by unraveling how their distinct spatial distribution leads to specific gene expression and proper cell fate acquisition. Professor Blilou's research group also aims to understand molecular mechanisms of growth/defense trade-offs in plants by unraveling how the same set of developmental genes can regulate defense response under stress conditions. The team also intends to understand adaptive strategies used by desert plants (using date palms as a model) to survive in hostile conditions.Selected Publications
- The Arabidopsis HOBBIT gene encodes a CDC27 homolog that links the plant cell cycle to progression of cell differentiation, Blilou, I. Frugier, F., Folmer, S., Serralbo, O., Willemsen, V., Wolkenfelt, H., Eloy, NB., Ferreira, PC., Weisbeek, P., Scheres B., Genes and Developement, 2002, 16:2566-75.
- The PIN auxin efflux facilitator network control growth and patterning in Arabidopsis roots, Blilou, I., Xu, J., Widwater, M., Willemsen, V., Paponov, I., Friml, J., Heidstra, R., Aida, M., Palme, K., Scheres, B., Nature, 2005, 433. 39-44.
- A bistable circuit involving SCARECROW-RETINOBLASTOMA integrates cues to inform asymmetric stem cell division, Cruz-RamArez A, DAaz-TriviA±o S, Blilou I, Grieneisen VA, Sozzani R, Zamioudis C, Miskolczi P, Nieuwland J, Benjamins R, et al, Cell, 2012, 150: 1002a-1015.
- The zinc finger BIRD proteins jointly stabilize tissue boundaries by confining the cell fate regulator SHORT-ROOT and contributing to fate specification in Arabidopsis, Long, Y., Smet, W, Cruz-RamArez, A, Castelijns, B., de Jonge, W, MA¤hA¶nen, AP., Bouchet, BP., Sanchez Perez, G., Akhmanova, A., Scheres, B., Blilou, I., Plant Cell, 2015, 27, 1185a-1199.
- In vivo FRET-FLIM reveals cell type-specific protein interactions in Arabidopsis roots, Long, Y., Stahl, Y., Weidtkamp-Peters, S., Postma, M., Zhou, W., Goedhart, J., Gadella, TWG Jr, Simon, R., Scheres, B & Blilou, I., Nature, 2017, 548: 97a-102.
Desired Project Deliverables
Generate a spatio-temporal protein interaction map in vivo