Professor Jia-Wei Wang obtained his bachelor's degree in Biology from Shanghai Jiaotong University in 1999, and PhD in Plant Molecular Genetics from Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology in 2005. Between 2005 and 2011, he joined Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Department of Molecular Biology, as a post doc. In 2011, he returned to Shanghai and joined Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology as a group leader.
Rejuvenation, reproduction, and regeneration: resetting the plant juvenility clock
Jia-Wei Wang
National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences (CEMPS), Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology (SIPPE), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai 200032, China
Multicellular organisms undergo several developmental transitions during their life cycles. In plants, the juvenile phase differs from the adult phase in terms of floral competence and morphological and anatomical traits in successive leaves. In this talk, I will first demonstrate that the juvenile phase is essential for plant reproductive success and that a high level of microRNA156 (miR156) and cell quiescence are two key factors for maintaining juvenility in plants. I will then discuss how the plant juvenility clock is reset through various pathways. Specifically, I will illustrate how plants develop a robust mechanism to ensure accurate restoration of the juvenile phase in each generation, and how this similar principle is also adopted for the reset of juvenility during de novo shoot regeneration.