Collaborative Research and RUI: Auxin Fluxes in the Arabidopsis Root Apex--a Combined Experimental and Computational Approach

摘要：根系隐藏在土壤中，经常被忽视，对植物生长至关重要，它探索土壤以获取水分和养分，并提供锚定。根的形态和功能受植物激素生长素的调控，生长素是由植物中专门的蛋白质家族产生和运输的。这些蛋白质的活性已大致了解，但定量方面仍不清楚。该项目的研究目标是通过实验和计算相结合的方法来提高对生长素转运的认识。这个多学科项目的实验方法包括生长素本身运动的高分辨率测量，以及生长素介导的反应（如细胞生长）的传播。实验将使用植物生物学中的“果蝇”拟南芥。几乎透明的根是显微镜工作的显著优势，并且生长素相关突变体的可用库是首屈一指的。该项目的计算方面将完善由Kramer开发的AuxSim模型，该模型已经被认为是生长素运输的强大计算工具。改进后的模型和实验结果将填补生长素在根内运输流程图中的一些空白。这将与理解生长素作用的分子生物学的当代努力协同，也可能有助于通过提高根效率来提高农业生产力的应用努力。AuxSim将免费提供。该奖项将与西蒙岩石学院和马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特学院的本科生合作，并将提供生物学严格和计算丰富的培训，这两种组合越来越被认为对未来的劳动力至关重要。

Abstract: Hidden by soil and often ignored, the root is vital to the growing plant, exploring the soil to get water and nutrients and providing anchorage. Root form and function is regulated by the plant hormone auxin, which is produced and transported by specialized protein families in the plant. The activity of these proteins is understood in broad outline, but quantitative aspects remain unclear. The research goals of the project aim to advance knowledge of auxin transport by combining experimental and computational approaches. The experimental approaches of this multidisciplinary project include high-resolution measurements of the movement of auxin itself, as well as of the propagation of auxin-mediated responses, such as cell growth. The experiments will use the species Arabidopsis thaliana, the "fruit fly" of plant biology. The nearly transparent roots are a significant advantage for microscope work, and the available storehouse of auxin-related mutants is second to none. The computational aspect of the project will refine AuxSim, a model under development by Kramer that is already recognized as a powerful computational tool for auxin transport. The refined model and experimental results will fill in several blanks in the flow-chart for auxin transport within the root. This will synergize with contemporary efforts to understand the molecular biology of auxin action, and may also help applied efforts to enhance agricultural productivity by improving root efficiency. AuxSim will be made freely available. The award will partner undergraduates at Simon's Rock and UMass Amherst, and will provide training that is both biologically rigorous and computationally rich, a combination increasingly considered essential for tomorrow's workforce.