根是植物登陆的关键器官，对根器官起源与演化的研究能够帮助我们理解植物和陆地环境的相互适应过程。目前关于植物根器官的起源及演化模式的研究极少，仅依靠化石证据推测维管植物的根至少经历了两次独立的起源，但是背后的分子机制却并不清楚。因此，本项目提出了“Auxin-WOX”的假说来探讨植物根器官起源及演化的分子基础。我们以不同演化节点的多类植物作为研究对象，发现转录因子IC-WOX在不同植物中有着保守的控制根创始细胞的特征。以此为切入点，本项目将利用植物切片和原位杂交技术对不同演化节点植物IC-WOX的表达模式追踪分析、基于CRISPR-Cas9等技术来进行功能研究、并配合分子和蛋白调控网络来系统地解析IC-WOX参与维管植物根起源及演化的分子机制。本项申请旨在揭示维管植物两次根起源事件背后的分子基础，从分子角度探寻植物登陆后为适应陆生环境而产生新器官的内在动力，最终推动植物器官发生理论的发展。

The appearance of root system was a great step during the colonization of land by plants, the study on the origin and evolution of root organs can help us understand how the plants adapted the terrestrial environments. There are few studies on the origin and evolution of root organs in vascular plants, classical fossil evidences suggested that the roots of vascular plants have experienced at least two independent origin events, but the molecular mechanism behind them is unclear. Therefore, we propose the "Auxin-WOX" hypothesis to explore the molecular basis of the origin and evolution of plant root organs. This project collects several plant groups at different evolutionary nodes, and preliminary research have shown that transcription factor IC-WOX has a relatively conservative function in maintaining of the characteristics of the root found cells in different types of plants. Take this as a starting point, we aim to track and analyze the expression patterns of IC-WOX in plants at different evolutionary nodes based on the plant sections and in situ hybridization techniques, to uncover protein functions based on CRISPR and other plant transgenic technologies, and to clarify the molecular mechanism of IC-WOX involved in the origin and evolution of vascular plant roots with molecular and protein regulation networks. The purpose of this application is to reveal the molecular basis during the two root origin events of vascular plants, to explore the intrinsic driving force of new organs to adapt to the terrestrial environment after landing, and finally promote the development of the theory of plant organogenesis.