Plants have evolved a multitude of complex molecular systems to help coordinate gene expression during critical events, and a better understanding of these systems will be necessary to further support the improvement of crop yield and resiliency. My research experience has tackled these regulatory relationships from many angles, from targeted molecular genetics based work in transgenic Arabidopsis, to transient luciferase reporter activity testing to maize, to dissecting TF complex activity and TF complex binding in yeast.