An operon-like transcript has been identified in plants
Operons were thought to be absent in plants. The research group of Michael Hothorn now reports the identification of an operon-like transcript in plants that allows for the concerted expression of a previously unknown cell-cycle regulator and a metabolic enzyme. This highly unusual transcript is conserved across the entire plant kingdom and is required for plant embryo development and growth.
This research was carried out in a collaborative effort by the SPSW members prof Michael Hothorn at the Department of Botany and Plant Biology (University of Geneva) and prof Yves Poirier Department of Plant Molecular Biology (University of Lausanne) with their teams.
Reference
Laura Lorenzo-Orts, Janika Witthoeft, Jules Deforges, Jacobo Martinez, Sylvain Loubéry, Aleksandra Placzek, Yves Poirier, Ludwig A. Hothorn, Yvon Jaillais & Michael Hothorn
Concerted expression of a cell cycle regulator and a metabolic enzyme from a bicistronic transcript in plants
Nature Plants, volume 5, pages 184–193 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-019-0358-3
Source
University of Geneva, Bio.News, http://biologie.unige.ch/en/2019/02/an-operon-like-transcript-has-been-identified-in-plants/