Environmental control of plant and algae growth

Our research interest is to study the mechanisms by which plants perceive and respond to changes in their light environment, specifically in the regulation of the light-induced developmental transition that occurs during seedling deetiolation and in the regulation of growth under diurnal conditions. The primary focus of our research is to identify the dark signaling mechanisms that operate in the regulation of these plant processes, using Arabidopsis as a model system and integrating a combination of multidisciplinary experimental approaches. Our current research is focused on the study of the role of the phytochrome-interacting factor 3 (PIF3) transcription factor and PIF3-regulated signaling components.