HEИндивидуална стипендия2023–2025

LAROSSE · Decoding the molecular basis of lateral root stem cell specification in plants: C-fern as a model system.

„Хоризонт Европа“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2023-09-01 → 2025-08-31
Финансиране от ЕС: 191 760 €
Участници: 1
Схема: HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Молекулярните механизми, които определят как се образуват страничните корени при папратите, се анализират на ниво единична клетка. Разбирането на тези процеси помага да се разбере как се е развила способността на съдовите растения да усвояват вода и хранителни вещества.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

Decoding the molecular basis of lateral root stem cell specification in plants: C-fern as a model system.

Plant roots are essential organs that enable efficient uptake of water and nutrients, provide anchorage in the soil, and host mutualistic microbes that enhance mineral acquisition. The rise and diversification of vascular plants—including lycophytes, ferns, and seed plants—across terrestrial ecosystems were greatly facilitated by the evolution of rooting capacity. Fossil evidence indicates that root branching evolved multiple times independently during vascular plant evolution. Ferns occupy a pivotal phylogenetic position as the sister lineage to seed plants and develop roots, including lateral branches, in highly regular patterns driven by ordered divisions of root stem cells. However, the molecular mechanisms governing lateral root stem cell specification in ferns remain largely unknown. The aim of this project was to elucidate the transcriptional changes associated with lateral root development in the fern Ceratopteris at single-cell resolution and to identify key transcription factors involved in lateral root stem cell specification. To achieve this aim, we employed an integrated combination of molecular, cell biological, and genetic approaches.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

To conquer land, vascular plants evolved a sophisticated root system, which consists of primary and lateral roots (LRs). The de novo LR organogenesis represents a major evolutionary innovation, which has provided sessile organisms like plants with the capacity to forage for water and nutrients. The host lab is a pioneer in demonstrating that LR formation requires de novo specification of stem cells inside the primary root. They also discovered that the early stages of LR initiation are regulated by an oscillatory mechanism where the phytohormone auxin plays a major role. Despite these advances, the exact molecular mechanisms underlying lateral root stem cell (LRSC) specification remain largely elusive and it is not known how these mechanisms emerged during plant evolution. To address these fundamental questions, I will use an emerging model system Ceratopteris richardii (C-fern), which is an evolutionary pivotal, yet underexplored model plant. Based on fossil records, ferns and seed plants diverged during the middle Devonian period from a common ancestor suggesting that several key regulators might be conserved among them, despite some differences in their root ontogeny. In C-fern, the formation of LRSCs is clearly visible at the anatomic level. C-fern has ancestral and possibly simpler mechanisms underlying LRSC specification. In this project, I aim to identify key transcription factors controlling LRSC specification in C-fern. To achieve this goal, I will combine my expertise in molecular and developmental biology with multidisciplinary approaches including single cell RNA sequencing, CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing and top-notch confocal imaging. This project has a strong potential to introduce novel concepts in the field of plant stem cells and their evolution. It will also open new perspectives for me to become an independent researcher in the field of evo-devo of plant stem cells.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

VIB VZW · ZWIJNAARDE - GENTКоординаторБелгия