Pluripotency indicators in scutellum-derived calli of indica rice

The efficient plant regeneration is essential for genetic transformation and genome editing in rice, but the regenerative capacity of indica rice calli remains highly genotype dependent. In our laboratory in past decade the studies are aimed to identify pluripotency indicators in scutellum-derived indica rice calli through an integrated histochemical, molecular, and microRNA-based approach.  The organogenic using simple histochemical analyses distinguished embryogenic from non-embryogenic calli. The  cellular organization, starch accumulation, and metabolic activity are rather important and studies are performed in detail. Embryogenic calli exhibited compact, nodular structures. The  densely cytoplasmic, actively dividing cells, whereas non-embryogenic calli showed extensive vacuolation and reduced cellular organization.

Molecular characterization revealed significant upregulation of key developmental regulators associated with pluripotency and somatic embryogenesis, including BABY BOOM (BBM), WUSCHEL (WUS), Somatic Embryagenisis Receptor-Like Kinase (SERK), and PLETHORA (PLT). Expression profiling of conserved microRNAs demonstrated differential regulation of miR156, miR160, miR166, miR167, miR169, miR319, and miR396, highlighting their roles in auxin signaling, meristem establishment, cell proliferation, and embryogenic competence. The combined histochemical, molecular, and microRNA analyses revealed distinct biomarkers associated with pluripotent cell identity and regenerative potential. These findings provide valuable insights into the regulatory networks governing callus pluripotency and establish a robust framework for selecting highly regenerable calli, thereby improving transformation efficiency, genome editing, and synthetic biology applications in elite indica rice cultivars.

Professor. Lata Israni Shukla studied Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology (Roorkee University) Roorkee, India and graduated as MSc in 1990. She then joined the research group of Prof. P C Kesavan at School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi, India and she received her M Phil & PhD degrees in 1993&1997 at the same institution. After  postdoctoral research at NCPGR, CPMB, SLS-JNU, Oakland University-USA, ICGEB-New Delhi  in areas of plant molecular biology, plant chlorophyll biosynthesis, DNA radiation-induced free radical mechanism, In vitro transcription- promoter escape in eukaryotic systems, generation of constructs for plant transformation using AC2 and B2 viral suppressor and the conserved miRNA cloning under different Prof S K Sopory, Prof B C Tripathy, Dr Sushil Kumar, Prof Mike Sevilla, Dr Arik Dvir and Dr Sunil Mukherjee and Prof R Sunkar. She has published more than 60 research articles, published one Indian Patent. She joined Pondicherry University in 2005.