Dissertation Research: The Importance of Root Hairs in Phosphorus Acquistion and the Mechanism of Root Hair Growth in Response to Phosphorus Availability

林奇9722151磷是植物生长所必需的养分；然而，在许多土壤中，磷是一种不可移动的资源，这使得植物获得磷成为障碍。在美国，农业中的磷过度肥化加剧了切萨皮克湾、佛罗里达大沼泽地和其他主要流域的污染。为了提高天然土壤中磷的有效性，减少农业实践中的化肥用量，研究植物根系如何从土壤中吸收磷是很重要的。植物根毛是根表皮的亚细胞延伸，在获取磷等固定资源方面具有重要作用。PI之前对拟南芥的研究表明，根毛的长度、生长速度和密度受到磷供应的高度调节。该研究所的研究目标是确定根毛在整个植物磷营养中的重要性，描述根毛密度增加与磷有效性降低的反应，并剖析根毛生长对外源磷营养的细胞机制。定量比例荧光显微镜和根毛突变植株将被用来研究根毛对磷有效性的响应。

Lynch 9722151 Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for plant growth; however, in many soils, phosphorus is an immobile resource which makes phosphorus acquisition an obstacle for plants. In the United States, phosphorus overfertilazation in agricultural has added to the pollution of the Chesapeake Bay, the Florida Everglades, and other major watersheds. To increase the availability of phosphorus in naturally occurring soils and to decrease the amount of fertilizer used in agricultural practices, it is important to study how plant roots extract phosphorus from the soil. Plant root hairs are subcellular extensions from the root epidermis that are hypothetically important in the acquisition of immobile resources such as phosphorus. The PI's previous work with Arabidopsis thatliana has shown that root hair length, growth rate, and density is highly regulated by phosphorus availability. The goal of the PI's research is to determine the importance of root hairs in overall plant phosphorus nutrition, characterize the response of increased root hair density with decreased phosphorus availability, and dissect the cellular mechanism of root hair growth in response to exotenous phosphorus nutrition. Quantitative ratio fluorescence microscopy and root hair mutant plants will be used to study the response of root hairs to phosphorus availability.