E&E Seminar Series: Epigenomic and epitranscriptomic drivers of acclimation and adaptation—from models to montanes

ABSTRACT
Plants employ a suite of gene regulatory mechanisms that enable them to occupy a diverse range of environments and respond to ongoing perturbations. These include epigenomic (DNA modifications that determine accessibility) and epitranscriptomic (RNA modifications that determine mRNA stability and translation) processes that can shape gene expression. While much of the machinery involved in these processes has been mapped in model systems, the scope of their regulatory capacity and ecological relevance are less studied. In this talk, I will present some of my recent work with Arabidopsis thaliana to investigate epitranscriptomic regulators that contribute to RNA surveillance, plant development, and drought tolerance. I will then describe my ongoing research at the ANU where I aim to investigate epigenomic variation associated with temperature adaptation in the native plant Wahlenbergia ceracea.

BIOGRAPHY
I obtained my PhD from ANU in 2018 working on chloroplast signalling and plant epigenetics with Prof Barry Pogson. I then worked on mRNA modifications and regulation, first through a CSIRO Fellowship in Synthetic Biology and then as a postdoctoral researcher with Prof Brian Gregory at the University of Pennsylvania. I am currently a research fellow working on plant epigenomics with Prof Adrienne Nicotra at ANU.