Nicole completed a Bachelor of Science in Genetics and Plant Biotechnology at the University of Otago, New Zealand in 2020. She then achieved First Class Honours in Genetics at the University of Otago in 2021, where she researched the genetic regulation of flowering time in perennial ryegrass.
In 2022, Nicole was accepted into the University of Melbourne, Australia Faculty of Science PhD programme, where she investigates the molecular regulation of plant development. Primarily this research focuses on the role of the LEUNIG regulatory complex in embryogenesis, root and shoot formation and maintenance. Nicole has presented her research at two national conferences (Combio2022, and the Australian Society of Plant Scientists 2023 conference) and one international conference (The International Congress of Genetics 2023).
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The LEUNIG Regulatory Complex: Understanding the Elaborate Regulation of Embryonic Apical-Basal Patterning
N. L. THOMSON [
1] , J. KAPTUR [1,2,3], A. SAMPATHKUMAR [3], J. F. GOLZ [1].
[1] University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, [2] University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany, [3] Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Golm, Germany
The intricate patterning that arises along the apical-basal axis during early embryogenesis plays a pivotal role in plant development. While key transcription factors involved in apical-basal patterning have been identified, interacting proteins that determine their activity remain poorly characterised. Past work has shown that the co-regulator LEUNIG (LUG) and its partially redundant homolog LEUNIG_HOMOLOG (LUH), along with the adaptor protein SEUSS (SEU) promote apical-basal patterning during embryogenesis. Our work suggests that this activity involves the formation of a complex with the WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX (WOX) transcription factors, as supported by yeast two-hybrid, bimolecular fluorescence complementation and co-immunoprecipitation assays.
When the LUG regulatory complex is non-functional, demonstrated in lug luh double mutants, many severe changes to gene expression can be observed. Interestingly, we observed reduced expression of several apical identity genes, including the CLASS THREE HOMEODOMAIN-LEUCINE ZIPPER (HD-ZIPIII) family. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and dual-luciferase transactivation assays have demonstrated that the LUG-SEU-WOX complex directly binds to the promoters of HD-ZIPIIIs to promote shoot apical meristem formation during embryo development. Together, this data provides compelling support f or the formation of a LUG-SEU-WOX complex that promotes apical-basal patterning of the developing Arabidopsis thaliana embryo.