Elisa Gómez

TL;DR: In maize, cells at the base of the endosperm are transformed into transfer cells that facilitate nutrient uptake by the developing seed and ZmMRP-1 is the first transfer cell–specific transcriptional activator to be identified.

TL;DR: It is shown that in epidermal cells committed to develop into aleurone cells, the ectopic expression of the transfer cell-specific transcriptional activator Myb-Related Protein-1 (MRP-1) is sufficient to temporarily transform them into transfer cells.

TL;DR: The results suggest that the ESR has a role in protecting the embryo at the very early stages of seed development, whilst contributes to the general defence mechanism of the kernel at later developmental stages.

TL;DR: The transgenic maize plants obtained showed the predicted cell-type specificity of expression restricted to the basal endosperm transfer cells, although there were minor deviations in promoter strength and timing and accumulation of the transgene product from the corresponding BETL-1 endogene expression pattern.

TL;DR: The molecular cloning of Rgh3 suggests that alternative RNA splicing is needed for cell differentiation, development, and plant viability.