Academic Research

Chair Professor Chang-Hsien Yang and his team found that OAF (Ovule Activating Factor) prevents precocious lignification during early ovule development by repressing CAD9 and is itself negatively regulated by miR847. In Phalaenopsis orchids, virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) of PaOAF further showed that suppression of PaOAF led to defective ovule and embryo development, accompanied by increased lignification in developing ovules. These results indicate that OAF functions to protect ovules from premature lignification during early development, thereby ensuring normal ovule growth and development. The study was published in Communications Biology (Li et al., 2023).

Article source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-023-04864-5