Research Projects

Abiotic stress conditions like heat, cold, salinity, or drought restrict plant growth and development. Sessile plants have evolved intricate mechanisms to perceive and respond to environmental changes through signal transduction pathways. Plants trigger a network of regulatory pathways and factors, including transcription factors (TFs) and Mediator subunits, which together cause reprogramming of the transcriptome. Mediator is a multi-subunit complex that interacts with TFs and RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and promotes transcription initiation. The transcription factors recruit Mediator to the enhancer, which in turn interacts with RNA Pol II to activate the transcription process and regulate the expression of target genes. Plant Mediators consist of over 25 subunits organized in head, middle, and tail modules, which govern distinct functions in transcription. The role of Mediator in stress responses through miRNAs is not yet explored. This project proposes to study the role of tail module subunits in the regulation of miRNA genes in response to different abiotic stresses. The study will investigate the expression of miRNA genes during stress responses in med14 and med15 mutants, identify potential target genes of differentially regulated miRNAs, and characterize the TFs that recruit the Mediator on the promoters of abiotic stress-responsive miRNA genes. This study will help understand the role of Mediator in miRNA-regulated defense responses in plants.