Talking with the neighbours: Understanding spatial accommodation during plant development
| Responsable du projet | Joop Vermeer |
| Collaborateur |
Milica Nenadić
Martha Thellmann Dorothee Stöckle Vinay Shekhar |
| Résumé |
Turgor-driven pressure of plant cells can be higher than that of a
car tire. It puts tremendous forces onto cell walls and drives
changes in cell shape. This has driven unique mechanisms to control
organ formation in comparison to metazoans. The fascinating
interplay between forces and local cellular reorganization is
poorly understood. Growth of lateral roots is a prominent example
of a developmental process in which mechanical forces are
generated. Lateral roots grow from a single cell layer that resides
deep within the primary root. On its way out, lateral roots grow
through endodermal, cortical and epidermal cell layers. I recently
demonstrated that endodermal cells actively accommodate lateral
root formation. Responses include a dramatic volume loss and a
controlled degradation of their lignin-based paracellular diffusion
barrier. Interfering genetically with these accommodating responses
in the endodermis completely blocks cell proliferation in the
pericycle. The lateral root system provides a unique opportunity to elucidate the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying spatial accommodation in plant development. I will combine genetic screens, state-of-the-art transcript profiling and advanced microscopy to identify the molecular players and mechanisms regulating spatial accommodation. Beyond its importance for lateral root formation, this research can provide fundamental new insights into many other developmental processes that heavily depend on spatial accommodation by surrounding tissue. These include the growth of pollen tubes and infection threads, the development of sclerenchyma fibre cells or the intracellular accommodation of symbionts. |
| Mots-clés |
mechanical constraints, organ initiation, Arabidopsis thaliana, cell volume regulation, lateral roots, spatial accommodation, intercellular communication |
| Type de projet | Recherche fondamentale |
| Domaine de recherche | Developmental biology |
| Source de financement | SNSF |
| Etat | Terminé |
| Début de projet | 1-10-2015 |
| Fin du projet | 30-9-2021 |
| Budget alloué | CHF1'921'638 |
| Contact | Joop Vermeer |