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Analyzing the molecular basis of plant root responses to the environment
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Walker, Liam (2019) Analyzing the molecular basis of plant root responses to the environment. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.
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WRAP_Theses_Walker_2019.pdf - Submitted Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Download (89Mb) | Preview |
Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b3494888~S15
Abstract
As sessile organisms, plants must be able to adapt to and exploit their environment in order to survive. A key aspect of this is the ability of plants to remodel their root system architecture in order to carry out the essential functions of providing anchorage and nutrient and water uptake from the surrounding soil. Soil typically contains a huge variety of microorganisms which will likely include species which are potentially harmful or beneficial to the plant, as well as a range of abiotic conditions.
One way in which plants can adapt their root systems in response to their environment is via the formation of new lateral roots. Lateral roots generally emerge perpendicularly to the primary root or other lateral roots and increase the surface area of the root system and the range of exploration. Genes involved in the regulation of lateral root formation in Arabidopsis thaliana were investigated by using fluorescence activated cell sorting over a timecourse. Gene expression changes over time in response to nitrogen application or Sinorhizobium meliloti inoculation, both of which are associated with the regulation of lateral root development, were investigated in cells of the pericycle, from which lateral roots derive, and an overlaying cell type, the cortex. Gene expression was found to be highly cell-type specific between the two cell types and this was conserved during environmental responses.
The formation of root nodules by legumes represents another quintessential example of a modification of the root to adapt to the environment. During conditions of nitrogen starvation, the plant can form structures on the root which can be colonized by symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil called rhizobia. In the nodule, atmospheric nitrogen is reduced by the bacteria and utilized by the host plant. The intersection between plant defence responses and symbiosis was investigated in the model legume Medicago truncatula to try and identify genes involved in distinguishing rhizobia as symbionts rather than as pathogens. Putative novel markers of defence and symbiosis were identified that may underpin this transition.
| Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects: | Q Science > QK Botany | ||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Roots (Botany) -- Growth, Roots (Botany) -- Formation, Roots (Botany) -- Physiology, Root-tubercles, Arabidopsis thaliana -- Genetics, Arabidopsis thaliana -- Growth | ||||
| Official Date: | September 2019 | ||||
| Dates: |
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| Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
| Theses Department: | School of Life Sciences | ||||
| Thesis Type: | PhD | ||||
| Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
| Supervisor(s)/Advisor: | Gifford, Miriam L. ; Ott, Sascha | ||||
| Format of File: | |||||
| Extent: | xi, 142 leaves : illustrations (some colour) | ||||
| Language: | eng |
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