How do nectaries form in Arabidopsis flowers?

了解多细胞生物如何产生它们的形状是发育生物学中最重要的问题之一。植物器官发生的遗传基础已被深入研究。然而，我们刚刚开始了解遗传指令是如何被翻译成生物形式的。揭示基因如何控制器官几何形状需要精确测量生物体中细胞随时间的行为。最近，我们发现了雄性生殖花器官雄蕊生长的细胞动力学。在这里，我们建议与加州大学洛杉矶分校的Lachezar Nikolov博士建立合作，探索蜜腺的发育动态，蜜腺是位于花基部的微小花器官，为传粉者吸引花蜜。我们的目的是发展共聚焦延时成像技术来观察模式植物拟南芥蜜腺的发生和生长。利用野生型和突变型植物，我们希望了解这些结构正确生长所需的细胞过程。我们的目标还在于将观察到的发育模式与已知参与蜜腺建立的关键分子调节剂联系起来。该项目不仅将为了解这些隐藏的花结构的发展铺平道路，而且还为未来经济重要作物的改进提供了必要的基础，特别是如何生产对传粉者更具吸引力的花朵。

Understanding how multi-cellular organisms generate their shapes is one of the most important questions in developmental biology. The genetic basis of organogenesis is intensively studied in plants. However, we just start to understand how genetic instructions are translated into biological forms. Uncovering how genes control organ geometries requires precise measurement of cellular behaviors over time in living organisms. Recently, we have uncovered cellular dynamics of growth in stamens, male reproductive floral organs. Here we propose to establish a collaboration with Dr. Lachezar Nikolov from UCLA to explore the developmental dynamics of nectaries, tiny floral organs located at the base of the flower that produces nectar for pollinator attraction. We aim to develop the confocal time-lapse imaging procedure to observe the initiation and growth of the nectaries in a model species Arabidopsis thaliana. Using WT and mutant plants we want to understand the cellular processes that are required for the proper outgrowth of those structures. We also aim to link observed developmental patterns with key molecular regulators known to be involved in nectaries' establishment. This project will not only pave the way toward the understanding of the development of those hidden floral structures but also provide the essential ground for future improvements of economically important crops, especially on how to produce flowers more attractive for pollinators.