Project description:The root epidermis of Arabidopsis provides a simple and experimentally useful model for studying the molecular basis of cell fate and differentiation. The goal of this study was to define the larger gene regulatory network that governs the differentiation of the root hair and non-hair cell types of the Arabidopsis root epidermis. Transcript levels in the root epidermis of wild-type and mutant lines were assessed by purifying populations of root epidermal cells using fluorescence-based cell-sorting. Further, the role of the plant hormones auxin and ethylene on root epidermis development was assessed by defining transcript levels in the root epidermis of plants grown on media containing IAA or ACC. These microarray results were used to construct a comprehensive gene regulatory network that depicts the transcriptional control of root epidermal cell fate and differentiation in Arabidopsis.
Project description:The root epidermis of Arabidopsis provides a simple and experimentally useful model for studying the molecular basis of cell fate and differentiation. The goal of this study was to define the transcript changes in the root epidermis of mutants associated with root epidermis cell specification, including mutants that lack a visible phenotypic alteration (try, egl3, myb23, and ttg2). Transcript levels were assessed by purifying populations of root epidermal cells using fluorescence-based cell-sorting with the WER::GFP transgene. These microarray results were used to compare the effects of single and double mutants on the gene regulatory network that controls root epidermal cell fate and differentiation in Arabidopsis.
Project description:The root epidermis of Arabidopsis provides a simple and experimentally useful model for studying the molecular basis of cell fate and differentiation. The goal of this study was to define the larger gene regulatory network that governs the differentiation of the root hair and non-hair cell types of the Arabidopsis root epidermis. Transcript levels in the root epidermis of wild-type and mutant lines were assessed by purifying populations of root epidermal cells using fluorescence-based cell-sorting. Further, the role of the plant hormones auxin and ethylene on root epidermis development was assessed by defining transcript levels in the root epidermis of plants grown on media containing IAA or ACC. These microarray results were used to construct a comprehensive gene regulatory network that depicts the transcriptional control of root epidermal cell fate and differentiation in Arabidopsis. The cells of the developing root epidermis were obtained by growing plant seedlings expressing the WER::GFP transgene under sterile conditions on MS media, cutting off root tips (including all developmental stages), protoplasting the roots, and purifying cells containing GFP using FACS. The WER::GFP transgene is expressed throughout the developing cells of the root epidermis and the lateral root cap. Three biological replicates were analyzed for each of the 25 plant lines examined in this study.
Project description:Root pathogens are a major thread in global crop production and protection strategies are required to sustainably enhance the efficiency of root immunity. Our understanding of root immunity is still limited in comparison to the knowledge gained for the regulation of immune response in leaves. In an effort to reveal the organisation of root immunity in roots, we undertook a cell type-specific transcriptome analysis to identify gene networks in epidermis, cortex and pericycle cells of Arabidopsis roots upon treatment with two immunity elicitors, bacterial microbe-associated molecular pattern flagellin and the endogenous damage-associated molecular pattern Pep1. Our analyses revealed that both elicitors induced cell type-specific immunity gene networks. Interestingly, both elicitors did not alter cell identity determining gene networks. Using sophisticated paired motif promoter analyses, we identified key transcription factor pairs involved in the regulation of cell type-specific immunity networks. In addition, our data show that cell identity networks are liaised with cell immunity networks to activate cell type-specific immune response according to the functional capabilities of each cell type.