Systems biology of cambium differentiation in Arabidopsis thaliana L.

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Revealing principles of cell fate determination in multicellular organisms is one fundamental goal in biological studies. Finding out how a single cell takes over special functions by interacting with other cells is challenging and requires comprehensive studies on cell-to-cell communication and the response of intracellular gene networks. An instructive example is radial growth of plant growth axes, a process which is based on the activity of the cambium, a bifacial stem cell niche generating both xylem and phloem tissues in opposite directions. In this project, we will leverage the unique properties of radial plant growth and identify regulators which determine the bifacial character of the cambium. This will be done by following a hypothesis-driven systems biology approach integrating and mining omics data, mathematical modelling and experimental verification of in silico predictions. As a unique readout for cambium organization we will use a recently generated Arabidopsis thaliana pPXY:CFP pSMXL5:YFP promoter reporter line with complementary promoter activities visualizing the bifacial organization of the cambium. High-throughput image analysis techniques together with mathematical modelling will be used to analyse reporter dynamics in distinct experimental conditions predicted to be informative in our theoretical studies. Moreover, bioinformatic analysis of PXY and SMXL5 regulatory promoter regions supported by functional promoter analysis will identify key regulators upstream of those highly specific protophloem and protoxylem markers. Large scale data analysis will furthermore foster the identification of regulators, their potential targets and cross-talks with decisive hormone signalling pathways. Collectively, we envisage that the combination of state-of-the-art experimental and systems biology tools will identify fundamental mechanisms of stem cell niche regulation and the accumulation of biomass in plants and beyond.