Role of Chromatin Remodeling in Lateral Organ Formation in Arabidopsis

My lab is interested in the role of chromatin remodeling in environmental or developmental reprogramming of cell fates. We have focused our investigations on members of the SWI/SNF family of ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling enzymes, which have prominent roles in reprograming cell fates in response to extrinsic and intrinsic cues in Arabidopsis. SWI/SNF ATPases utilize the energy derived from ATP hydrolysis to change the interaction between the histone octamer and the DNA in the nucleosome. This alters the accessibility of the genomic DNA to sequence specific binding proteins or the general transcriptional machinery. Here we will discuss our recent findings regarding the roles of the SWI/SNF ATPases SPLAYED and BRAHMA in organogenesis from the reproductive shoot apex.