Programmed Cell Death (PCD) is fundamental to the development of multicellular organisms However, our knowledge on developmentally controlled PCD in plants remains fragmentary, despite its undoubted significance for plant growth and reproduction

My team has established the Arabidopsis root cap as a novel model system for developmental PCD in plants This model has enabled us to identify first key transcription factors controlling PCD in this context Their functional analysis suggests the existence of an intricate gene regulatory network that controls PCD as ultimate differentiation step of root cap cells

The present research proposal aims to identify novel transcriptional regulators in the PCD regulatory network Candidate transcription factors will be identified based on a meta-analysis of a variety of recent experimental and computationally inferred data sets Candidates will be screened for conspicuous gain-of-function phenotypes recognized by wide-spread PCD upon inducible misexpression Conversely, screening for loss-of-function PCD suppression phenotypes will be facilitated by innovative multiplex tissue-specific CRISPR approaches

Detailed functional analyses of new candidate factors producing gain- or loss-of-function phenotypes will increase our knowledge of developmental PCD regulation in plants Understanding the PCD regulatory network is a first step to appreciate the complex layers of control that regulate PCD as a fundamental principle of plant development