Plasticity of plant vascular development in response to environmental stress

Plant root xylem cells show extensive developmental plasticity generating cell fate changes and enhanced differentiation rates when exposed to water deficiency. This is signalled by the stress hormone abscisic acid, ABA. ABA signals both non-cell autonomously and cell-autonomously to modify key vascular developmental regulators.

However, it is unclear for how long immature xylem cells stay pluripotent to respond to external cues, and how different signals crosstalk with one another.

Furthermore, our preliminary data suggests a large variation in xylem developmental response in different natural Arabidopsis accessions in response to stress cues, indicating genetically encoded plasticity variation.

Here I apply funding for a 4-year PhD-student project where we will employ genetic and molecular methods to dissect xylem developmental regulation upon ABA, water limitation and high salt conditions.

Moreover, we will analyse xylem developmental plasticity in Arabidopsis accessions, and identify underlying genetic associations.

We have found that root xylem in other eudicots display similar type of responses to ABA as Arabidopsis indicating substantial conservation.

Hence, data from Arabidopsis is of general importance for our understanding of how plant xylem development is regulated which is fundamental to plant life and evolution.

How response amplitudes may be adapted to different environments may further inform breeding of resilient crops for a future climate.