Physiological and genetic requirements for water perception driving lateral root hydropatterning
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Water is necessary for all known forms of life. Due to their sessile lifestyle, land plants employ an array of physiological and developmental responses to enhance uptake of water from the environment and limit its loss in times of water deficit. These responses occur at several spatial scales of organization, including at the level of single cells, multicellular tissues, organs, and organ systems. Despite the importance of these acclimatory processes to plant survival, the mechanisms of water perception upstream of acclimation responses are poorly understood. To gain a better understanding of these processes, I performed experiments to examine the genetic and physiological basis for hydropatterning, a recently discovered developmental response to water availability. During hydropatterning, lateral root branches are induced in regions of the main root directly contacting sources of available water, and are inhibited in regions exposed to low water availability. I used hydropatterning as a model to understand water perception in plants using two experimental strategies. In my first approach, I asked whether developmental competence to respond to water was limited, and if so, what biological processes were required to establish competence. Through a combination of physiological and mathematical-modeling experiments, I revealed growth to be a requirement for competence, and demonstrated that growth-associated changes in tissue biophysical properties were predictive of future lateral root patterning decisions. In my second approach, I sought to identify genetic loci required for hydropatterning. I uncovered phenotypic variation in hydropatterning through a mutant screen and a survey of natural maize accessions, and identified a 1-Mb interval of the maize genome associated with this phenotype. I conclude with a discussion of how my findings will inform future studies on water sensing, and what key experimental and technological advances will be necessary to move this field forward.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2017 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Robbins, Neil Edwards II |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Biology. |
| Primary advisor | Long, Sharon |
| Thesis advisor | Long, Sharon |
| Thesis advisor | Ehrhardt, David |
| Thesis advisor | Peay, Kabir |
| Thesis advisor | Walbot, Virginia |
| Advisor | Ehrhardt, David |
| Advisor | Peay, Kabir |
| Advisor | Walbot, Virginia |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Neil Edwards Robbins II. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Biology. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2017. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2017 by Neil Edwards Robbins
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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