{"id":{"repo_id":"uwo","oai_identifier":"oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/33380"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uwo/oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/33380","repository":{"repo_id":"uwo","name":"Western University","base_url":"https://uwo.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Functional Analysis of the miR156 Regulatory Network in Arabidopsis Siliques","abstract":"Siliques are photosynthetically active seed capsules and their development is strongly influenced by embryo development. MicroRNA156 (miR156)-SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE (SPL) network is involved in regulating plant growth and development, but the downstream genes of this network are still not fully elucidated. Here, I show that the miR156/SPL2 pathway controls the development of floral organs, regulates pollen production, and thus affects male fertility in Arabidopsis thaliana. I present evidence that SPL2 binds to the 5’UTR of the ASYMMETRIC LEAVES 2 (AS2) gene in vivo, indicating that AS2 acts downstream of SPL2. When compared to wild-type plants, AS2 loss-of-function mutants share certain similarities with SPL2 dominant-negative mutants and miR156 overexpression plants, including defective floral organ growth and partially sterile phenotypes. Furthermore, the transcript levels of AS2 were decreased in both miR156 overexpression plants and SPL2 dominant-negative mutant. My results suggest that the miR156/SPL2 pathway and AS2 affect floral organs and silique development as well as plant fertility, and AS2 is directly activated by SPL2.","abstract_html":"Siliques are photosynthetically active seed capsules and their development is strongly influenced by embryo development. MicroRNA156 (miR156)-SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE (SPL) network is involved in regulating plant growth and development, but the downstream genes of this network are still not fully elucidated. Here, I show that the miR156/SPL2 pathway controls the development of floral organs, regulates pollen production, and thus affects male fertility in Arabidopsis thaliana. I present evidence that SPL2 binds to the 5’UTR of the ASYMMETRIC LEAVES 2 (AS2) gene in vivo, indicating that AS2 acts downstream of SPL2. When compared to wild-type plants, AS2 loss-of-function mutants share certain similarities with SPL2 dominant-negative mutants and miR156 overexpression plants, including defective floral organ growth and partially sterile phenotypes. Furthermore, the transcript levels of AS2 were decreased in both miR156 overexpression plants and SPL2 dominant-negative mutant. My results suggest that the miR156/SPL2 pathway and AS2 affect floral organs and silique development as well as plant fertility, and AS2 is directly activated by SPL2.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Wang, Zhishuo"],"institution":"The University of Western Ontario","degree_name":"M Sc","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Hannoufa, Abdelali","Susanne Kohalmi"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-12-03","date_published":"2015-12-03","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:56:01Z","subjects":["miR156","SPL2","AS2","plant fertility","floral organ","siliques development"],"languages":["en_ca"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/33380","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Hannoufa, Abdelali","Susanne Kohalmi"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Wang, Zhishuo"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-07-10T19:52:12Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-07-10T19:52:12Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2015-12-03"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["The University of Western Ontario"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M Sc"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["miR156","SPL2","AS2","plant fertility","floral organ","siliques development"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_ca"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/33380"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). In citing or referring to this thesis, use the DOI or handle from this page instead. Sample citation: Author name, \"Thesis title.\" (Year). Western University Open Repository. https://doi.org/10.71858/123456."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Siliques are photosynthetically active seed capsules and their development is strongly influenced by embryo development. MicroRNA156 (miR156)-SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE (SPL) network is involved in regulating plant growth and development, but the downstream genes of this network are still not fully elucidated. Here, I show that the miR156/SPL2 pathway controls the development of floral organs, regulates pollen production, and thus affects male fertility in Arabidopsis thaliana. I present evidence that SPL2 binds to the 5’UTR of the ASYMMETRIC LEAVES 2 (AS2) gene in vivo, indicating that AS2 acts downstream of SPL2. When compared to wild-type plants, AS2 loss-of-function mutants share certain similarities with SPL2 dominant-negative mutants and miR156 overexpression plants, including defective floral organ growth and partially sterile phenotypes. Furthermore, the transcript levels of AS2 were decreased in both miR156 overexpression plants and SPL2 dominant-negative mutant. My results suggest that the miR156/SPL2 pathway and AS2 affect floral organs and silique development as well as plant fertility, and AS2 is directly activated by SPL2."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Functional Analysis of the miR156 Regulatory Network in Arabidopsis Siliques"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Hannoufa, Abdelali","Susanne Kohalmi"],"dc:creator":["Wang, Zhishuo"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-07-10T19:52:12Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-07-10T19:52:12Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2015-12-03"],"dc:description":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). In citing or referring to this thesis, use the DOI or handle from this page instead. Sample citation: Author name, \"Thesis title.\" (Year). Western University Open Repository. https://doi.org/10.71858/123456."],"dc:description.abstract":["Siliques are photosynthetically active seed capsules and their development is strongly influenced by embryo development. MicroRNA156 (miR156)-SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE (SPL) network is involved in regulating plant growth and development, but the downstream genes of this network are still not fully elucidated. Here, I show that the miR156/SPL2 pathway controls the development of floral organs, regulates pollen production, and thus affects male fertility in Arabidopsis thaliana. I present evidence that SPL2 binds to the 5’UTR of the ASYMMETRIC LEAVES 2 (AS2) gene in vivo, indicating that AS2 acts downstream of SPL2. When compared to wild-type plants, AS2 loss-of-function mutants share certain similarities with SPL2 dominant-negative mutants and miR156 overexpression plants, including defective floral organ growth and partially sterile phenotypes. Furthermore, the transcript levels of AS2 were decreased in both miR156 overexpression plants and SPL2 dominant-negative mutant. My results suggest that the miR156/SPL2 pathway and AS2 affect floral organs and silique development as well as plant fertility, and AS2 is directly activated by SPL2."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/33380"],"dc:language.iso":["en_ca"],"dc:publisher":["The University of Western Ontario"],"dc:subject":["miR156","SPL2","AS2","plant fertility","floral organ","siliques development"],"dc:title":["Functional Analysis of the miR156 Regulatory Network in Arabidopsis Siliques"],"dc:type":["thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_name":["M Sc"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:56:01Z"}