What is it about?
A plant's root system is key for uptake of water and nutrients. Being able to regulate root architecture dynamically allows plants to respond to changing environments. We have discovered a gene in Arabidopsis, AtMYB93, which provides a way of inhibiting the formation of new root branches in a subtle and precise manner.
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Why is it important?
Knowledge of new ways to alter root branching in plants specifically and precisely without affecting other processes such as shoot development gives us new ways of improving plant roots' responses to the environment, including stress. The AtMYB93 gene has homologues in many key crops, so this knowledge can translate to crops in the future.
Perspectives
This is an exciting paper that discovers a gene expressed in only a few cells in the root to precisely modulate root branching in response to hormones. Work in the lab ins ongoing to characterise effects on plant stress responses in Arabidopsis and crops.
Dr Juliet C Coates
University of Birmingham
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: AtMYB93 is a novel negative regulator of lateral root development in Arabidopsis, New Phytologist, June 2014, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/nph.12879.
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