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Dr. Mingli Xu, assistant professor in the Department, was awarded a three year grant for $475,083 from the National Science Foundation  to conduct a project entitled "Role of miR156-targeted SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE transcription factors in floral transition”!

Flowering is one of the major decisions in a plant's life cycle and is required for producing the seeds and fruits that support life on earth. In many species, plants make a unique type of leaf before making flowers. This phase is the initial stage of reproductive development. The proposed studies aim at investigating how a group of proteins, known as SPB box transcription factors, specify this initial stage of reproductive development in the model genetic system, Arabidopsis thaliana. Congrats Mingli!