Phenotypic Differentiation of Val1 Mutants Throughout the Lifecycle of the Model Plant Arabidopsis Thaliana

Due to Earth’s shifting climate, studies to find crops with high seed oil content are critical because researchers are using seed oil to produce biofuels . Many studies have been designed to identify genes that play a role in seed oil production, such as VPI/AB13-like1 (VAL1). VAL1 encodes a B3 family transcription factor that is known to repress genes responsible for seed maturation. A mutation of the VAL1 gene in Arabidopsis thaliana has been shown to cause decreased oil contents in seeds but increased seed storage protein content. val1 mutants are known to be delayed in developmental aspects such as bolting time (emergence of the initial stem), flower maturity, and silique production. Previous studies at the University of Lynchburg have shown that that val1 mutants display delayed bolting when subjected to varying levels of light and water stress. Our current study investigated the phenotypic effects of val1 on Arabidopsis thaliana under typical growth conditions. The results indicated that val1 affects not only bolting time but the growth rate of the aboveground structures. Additionally, the val1 mutation affects root development. In the mutant, the primary root develops more slowly, and there are fewer lateral roots emerging. We are now using histological techniques to determine the root developmental stage at which the val1 mutant root begins to deviate from the wild-type root. This will help us to understand what downstream target gene(s)VAL1 is repressing to determine whether the delays in root development are causing the aboveground tissue delays