On May 8, the 61st Plant Cell and Developmental Frontier Forum was held in the Lecture Hall of Building B at the School of Agriculture and Biology. Dr. András Viczián from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged Biological Research Centre, delivered an academic talk titled "Integration of Environmental Signals by Functional Cooperation of Phytochromes." The forum was hosted by Professor Yin Ruohe from the School.

Using Arabidopsis as a model plant, Dr. Viczián focuses on plant light-controlled development, with particular emphasis on the perception and transduction mechanisms of red and far-red light signals. Red light (R, ~660 nm) and far-red light (FR, ~730 nm) signals are primarily perceived and transmitted by the phytochrome family. In Arabidopsis, this family consists of five members (phyA–phyE), among which phyA and phyB have been extensively studied as major photoreceptors, while the functions of phyC, phyD, and phyE remain incompletely understood. The talk presented a systematic study on the independent function of phyD and its cooperative roles with other family members through overexpression of this low-abundance member in a phytochrome-deficient genetic background. The study found that phyD not only collaborates with phyC and phyB in light signal perception but also regulates plant signal transduction in response to ambient temperature. This work deepens the understanding of phytochrome-mediated light signal transduction and offers new insights into the integration mechanism of light and temperature environmental signals.

During the interactive Q&A session, faculty and students raised several questions, which Dr. Viczián answered thoroughly and thoughtfully. He also shared challenges and achievements from his own research experience, encouraging everyone to remain curious and persistent on their scientific journey and to strive for original and distinctive research outcomes.