Evolutionary Adaptation of the Chemical Language of Nutrient Acquisition Strategies in Higher Plants

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The autotrophic and sessile nature of plants means that they need to respond to nutrient limitations in a finely tuned manner to grow and survive. Metabolites play an important role during these adaptations, either as direct modulators or as biochemical indicators of the pathways activated. Plants have evolved from relatively simple unicellular organisms that have a remarkable adaptability to respond to their environment through metabolite-modulated quorum-sensing mechanisms. Preliminary evidence suggests that plants have either retained some of this ability or have evolved novel nutrient recognition strategies. This project will elucidate these pathways to gain new insights into nutrient acquisition in plants.