The signalling pathway for strigolactones is very closely related to, and appears to be derived from the KAI2-ligand (KL) signalling pathway, an ancient but enigmatic pathway. We are very interested in understanding how strigolactone signalling evolved, and what the consequences of this evolutionary history are for the function of the strigolactone and KL signalling. We are also interested in the evolution of strigolactones as molecules, which appear to be much more ancient that the strigolactone signalling pathway. We want to understand the function of strigolactones in non-seed plants, if there is no signalling pathway.
Tom Bennett Lab 