Seoul National University · Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Professor Pil Joon Seo's research lab focuses on plant molecular biology and stress adaptation, with a central emphasis on how transcription factors and epigenetic regulators coordinate plant responses to environmental stresses such as drought, cold, and pathogen attack. The lab investigates key signaling networks involving phytohormones like abscisic acid (ABA), auxin, and salicylic acid, particularly through transcription factors such as MYB96 and clock components like CCA1. A major research direction involves understanding the molecular mechanisms of cellular reprogramming, including dedifferentiation and callus formation, with a focus on epigenetic regulation by histone modifiers such as ATXR2. The lab also explores the integration of circadian rhythms with stress responses, revealing how biological clocks modulate plant resilience.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Plant adaptive responses to drought are coordinated by adjusting growth and developmental processes as well as molecular and cellular activities. The root system is the primary site that perceives drought stress signals, and its development is profoundly affected by soil water content. Various growth hormones, particularly abscisic acid (ABA) and auxin, play a critical role in root growth under drought through complex signaling networks. Here, we report that a R2R3-type MYB transcription factor,
*The Arabidopsis MYB96 transcription factor plays a role in abscisic acid (ABA)-mediated drought response. Notably, anthocyanins accumulate in the activation-tagging myb96-1d line, suggesting a role of MYB96 in biotic and abiotic stress responses in plants. Here, we investigate the role of MYB96 in salicylic acid (SA) biosynthesis and plant defense and explore the mechanisms underlying the ABA-SA interaction. *myb96-1d and myb96-1 were subject to pathogen infection assays, and expression of SA b
The circadian clock synchronizes biological processes to daily cycles of light and temperature. Clock components, including CIRCADIAN CLOCK-ASSOCIATED1 (CCA1), are also associated with cold acclimation. However, it is unknown how CCA1 activity is modulated in coordinating circadian rhythms and cold acclimation. Here, we report that self-regulation of Arabidopsis thaliana CCA1 activity by a splice variant, CCA1β, links the clock to cold acclimation. CCA1β interferes with the formation of CCA1α-CC
Various environmental stresses limit plant growth, development, and reproductive success. Plants have therefore evolved sophisticated adaptive responses to deal with environmental challenges. The responses of plants to environmental stresses are mainly mediated by abscisic acid (ABA)-dependent and ABA-independent signaling pathways. While these two pathways have been implicated to play discrete roles in abiotic stress responses, accumulating evidence suggests that they are also intertwined. Here
Plants exhibit remarkable regeneration capacity, ensuring developmental plasticity. In vitro tissue culture techniques are based on plant regeneration ability and facilitate production of new organs and even the whole plant from explants. Plant somatic cells can be reprogrammed to form a pluripotent cell mass called the callus. A portion of pluripotent callus cells gives rise to a fertile shoot via de novo shoot organogenesis (DNSO). Here, we reconstitute the shoot regeneration process with four
Cellular dedifferentiation, the transition of differentiated somatic cells to pluripotent stem cells, ensures developmental plasticity and contributes to wound healing in plants. Wounding induces cells to form a mass of unorganized pluripotent cells called callus at the wound site. Explanted cells can also form callus tissues in vitro. Reversible cellular differentiation-dedifferentiation processes in higher eukaryotes are controlled mainly by chromatin modifications. We demonstrate that ARABIDO
Transcription factors play a central role in the gene regulatory networks that mediate various aspects of plant developmental processes and responses to environmental changes. Therefore, their activities are elaborately regulated at multiple steps. In particular, accumulating evidence illustrates that post-transcriptional control of mRNA metabolism is a key molecular scheme that modulates the transcription factor activities in plant responses to temperature fluctuations. Transcription factors ha
Plants have evolved diverse adaptive strategies to cope with drought or water deficit conditions, such as stomatal closure, maintenance of root growth and water uptake, and biosynthesis of osmoprotectants. Accumulation of cuticular waxes also contributes to drought resistance. However, it is still unclear how cuticular wax biosynthesis is regulated in response to drought and how it is associated with plant responses to drought at the molecular level. The abscisic acid (ABA)-inducible MYB96 trans
Plant somatic cells can be reprogrammed by in vitro tissue culture methods, and massive genome-wide chromatin remodeling occurs, particularly during callus formation. Since callus tissue resembles root primordium, conversion of tissue identity is essentially required when leaf explants are used. Consistent with the fact that the differentiation state is defined by chromatin structure, which permits limited gene profiles, epigenetic changes underlie cellular reprogramming for changes to tissue id
The circadian clock is a cellular time-keeper mechanism that regulates biological rhythms with a period of ~24 h. The circadian rhythms in metabolism, physiology, and development are synchronized by environmental cues such as light and temperature. In plants, proper matching of the internal circadian time with the external environment confers fitness advantages on plant survival and propagation. Accordingly, plants have evolved elaborated regulatory mechanisms that precisely control the circadia
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