Functional genomics and biochemistry of shoot apical meristems

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Crop plants have been cultivated and continuously improved by humans for thousands of years. Despite this long shared history, we have only a limited understanding of how these crucially important plants grow and develop to produce the organs we rely on to feed, clothe and shelter us. The logical dissection of the metabolism of agronomically critical plant organs is required before scientists can design rational methods to improve these crops. All plant organs arise from as few as ten stem cells in structures in the plant shoot and root called apical meristems. The stem cells interpret intracellular signals that cause them to divide and commit their daughter cells to specific functions within tissues or organs. Specific combinations of these signals can shift the growth pattern of the plant, for example by controlling the rate of vegetative growth through the process of dormancy, specifically by stopping and restarting division and differentiation of the stem cells. Entering dormancy in the autumn and emerging from it in the spring define the life cycle of temperate region plants. When dormancy is broken in potatoes in storage, the buds begin to sprout and quickly result in the tubers becoming commercially unusable. Research in our lab will center around understanding how the biochemistry of potato buds changes during dormancy break as a first step towards controlling it. We will use new tools and methods to identify and examine the genes that serve as cues during dormancy emergence. These techniques include laser capture microscopy for microdissection and purification of shoot apical meristem stem cells; molecular biology techniques to isolate and identify early emergence-specific genes in these cells and examine how expression of these genes changes over time; and biochemical techniques for examination of the location and function of proteins expressed by these genes. Our ability to choose the right tissue and the right time to examine potato shoot apical meristem metabolism during emergence significantly improves our chances of finding novel, cardinal genes controlling growth. The ultimate goal of research in our lab is to better understand and improve crops and thus directly benefit agricultural producers, processors and consumers.