Understanding Strigolactones

Strigolactones (SLs) are a recently discovered class of plant hormones that play powerful roles in shaping how plants grow and interact with their environment. These small molecules help regulate branching and tillering, strengthen stems, accelerate leaf aging, and improve plant resilience under stress.

Beyond the plant itself, SLs act as chemical signals in the soil. Roots release them to attract beneficial arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), which enhance nutrient uptake and absorption. Unfortunately, the same signals also awaken parasitic weeds such as Striga, leading to devastating crop losses.

Chemically, SLs are derived from carotenoids and share a common butenolide ring (D-ring) that drives their activity. They exist in two main forms:

canonical SLs, with a stable four-ring structure, and
non-canonical SLs, a more diverse and flexible group.

Despite rapid advances in research, key questions remain: Do canonical and non-canonical SLs serve different functions in the rhizosphere? Why do plants produce such a wide variety of SLs? Unlocking these mysteries could pave the way for engineering crops with better architecture, stronger fungal partnerships, and resistance to parasitic weeds.

RESEARCH FOCUS

Our lab focuses on understanding the biosynthesis and metabolism of strigolactones (SLs), a fascinating group of plant hormones that influence both plant architecture and interactions with the soil environment. By working with rice mutants that display distinct tillering and branching patterns, we can compare their SL profiles to identify the genetic variations responsible for these differences. This approach allows us to connect plant form with underlying metabolic pathways.

To probe deeper into function, we use CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technique to selectively modify key genes in the SL pathway. This enables us to investigate the unique biological roles of canonical and non-canonical SLs, determine how they contribute to plant growth and environmental adaptation, and trace their evolutionary origins across plant lineages.

Through this research, we aim to answer two fundamental questions:

Why did plants evolve such a chemically diverse family of SLs?
What advantages do different SL structures provide in regulating plant growth and shaping interactions with fungi, weeds, and the environment?

Ultimately, our discoveries will not only expand basic scientific knowledge but also provide strategies to engineer crops with optimized architecture, stronger symbiotic partnerships, and greater resistance to parasitic weeds, contributing to more sustainable agriculture worldwide.

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