Germinating Success

As part of the Howard Hughes Research Fellows Program we have the chance to hear about our peers’ research through “chalk talks.”  A chalk talk is essentially a presentation that involves no posters or powerpoints, simply a piece of chalk (or a marker in our case) and a board to write on. 

Although we are in a program together, and the same foundation is funding our stay here at Duke, all of our work is independent. Each of us works in separate labs doing very different research. That’s where the chalk talks come in. It gives us the chance to hear what our colleagues are doing. Though these brief talks are just a taste of the incredible work the fellows are doing, it’s amazing to hear about some of the great work being done.

I’d like to talk about Lien Hoang’s Research on the model organism Arabidopsis. Arabidopsis is a weed that grows in North America, her plant –based genetics research is very different from In particular, we seek to better understand how the conditions experienced by the mother plant influence patterns of gene expression, and consequently the germination phenotypes of the seeds the neurological research I do at the Silver lab. It provides an interesting contrast to the work I am familiar with. Therefore I’ve decided to talk about Lien’s research in this blog.

The Arabidopsis plant:

Lien works in Dr. Kathleen Donohue’s lab. The lab uses the plant to study genetics. As Lien writes,” In particular, we seek to better understand how the conditions experienced by the mother plant influence patterns of gene expression, and consequently the germination phenotypes of the seeds.”

According to Lien, there are 3 main factors that influence germination, genes, environmental factors, and maternal effects.  Below is a chart I’ve created that simplifies these factors.

These factors influence germination in a number of ways. Genes influence germination as the genetic makeup of seeds can influence germination timing. Specific genes can control whether a plant germinates at a specific temperature, for example. Environmental factors influence the phenotype of seeds. Temperatures that are too hot or too cold for a plant can prevent or slow down germination. Additionally, water potential, or water’s tendency to move from one location to another, can also have an impact on phenotype, and consequently germination timing. Finally, maternal effects can significantly influence germination. This factor is by far the most difficult to analyze, as it is more indirect than the previous two. However, it is well established that the conditions experienced by the maternal plant can greatly influence the germination time of its seeds.

Studying the influence of the maternal plant can be quite useful. After all, conditions experienced by mothers during pregnancy can impact her child. Smoking and alcohol are examples. Thus, these plants are a useful tool in helping to build our understanding of maternal impact.

Lien was certainly an expert in her field. She knew details down to the most precise point. If there’s a general theme I learned from these chalk talks it’s that we are all blooming scientists. With dramatically different projects, that are often extremely complex it’s great to see myself and my peers developing into scientists. Though most of us are simply at the roots, we have just begun the process of becoming successful scientists. I hope that all of us will continue to germinate, growing a successful scientific career in the process. 

Sincerely Yours,

Danielle