Genetic Control of Lateral Root Patterning

Science Center, Bent Corridor

The plant hormone auxin is a central regulator of lateral root growth in Arabidopsis thaliana. Auxin distribution is known to influence lateral root patterning, but the mechanism for this process is not fully understood. Preliminary research done in our lab suggests that plants with mutations that render specific genes non-functional are deficient in initiating lateral roots and in biasing lateral roots to the outside of primary root curves. My current experiments elaborate on the role of this gene in lateral root pattering through rescuing its different expression domains, crossing with other mutants affected in lateral root spacing, and application of auxin along the primary root.