ABSTRACT

Chloroplast-to-nucleus retrograde signaling has long been understood through transcriptional lenses, but growing evidence points to translational control as an equally decisive layer. This talk presents findings from our TraDeRS (Translation-dependent Retrograde Signaling) work, which identifies a translationally-driven signaling axis linking chloroplast redox status to nuclear gene expression. Using polysome profiling, and pharmacological dissection with DCMU and methyl viologen, single-cell protoplast reporter assays across tens of thousands of cells, we show that a GAPDH–RNA Motif1 isoform switch under high light is coupled to cytosolic NAD⁺/NADH redox state, and that this translational response is mechanistically distinct from transcriptional programs.

How can this mechanism open concrete avenues for synthetic biology tool development? Redox-responsive translational switches as tuneable biosensors, engineered translational isoform-based control elements for stress-responsive transgene expression, and applications in crop systems could offer fine-tuned, rapid post-transcriptional responses. This may offer advantages over slower transcriptional circuits for engineering stress resilience.

BIOGRAPHY

I completed my PhD under Prof. Karl-Josef Dietz at the University of Bielefeld, Germany, where my research focused on cellular signal transmission and transcriptional regulation of abiotic stress responses in plants.

As a researcher in Prof. Barry Pogson's lab at the ANU, I led a team investigating post-transcriptional regulation mechanisms in plant stress responses, with a particular focus on translational control. Our team's research integrates these cellular stress responses with synthetic biology approaches, aiming to develop novel regulatory elements that enhance photosynthetic efficiency and stress resilience through the application of SynBio tools to the key regulators of translation in a retrograde and cellular signaling context.

As part of Plant SynBio Australia (PSBA), I  am working to establish services and infrastructure, among other things, around the tools presented in this seminar, extending this research into practical platforms for the broader plant synbio community.