2010 Projects: Molecular Genetics of Arabidposis

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Elliot M. MeyerowitzProposal Number 0846192Molecular Genetics of Arabidopsis thalianaFlowering plants grow from collections of stem cells called apical meristems. When a seed germinates, there are two meristems-the root apical meristem from which the root grows, and the shoot apical meristem, which eventually gives rise to the entire above-ground part of the plant. The Meyerowitz laboratory has developed a set of new live-imaging methods for studying cell divisions and gene expression in shoot apical meristems. What is proposed here is a series of studies, using these methods and plant genetics, to understand two aspects of plant stem cells. The first is the ability of any plant tissue to give rise to a new shoot apical meristem. This process will be followed in detail, leading to an understanding of how patterned growth originates in plant tissues. The second set of studies will follow the effects and perception of the plant hormone cytokinin in growing shoot apical meristems, leading to better understanding of the role that this plant hormone plays in plant growth.The broader impacts of this work include the education of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in plant developmental biology. In addition, results and images from these studies will be used in teacher training programs, including the nationally recognized "Grounding in Botany" program, in which laboratory exercises using plants are developed by teachers for high school classrooms; and a program in which graduate students and postdoctoral scholars from Caltech spend up to six weeks at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, teaching high school and elementary science teachers in a summer teacher training program. Finally, it should be noted that the results of the proposed studies will lead to practical abilities to control plant growth, which in turn will be a contribution to agriculture with impact on supplies of food and fuel, two of the great problems facing humanity