CAREER: Examining xylem vessel network structure and function in woody plants using developmental and intra-organismal systems

植物中的水分通过称为木质部的维管组织进行运输。在开花植物的木质部内，水分通过称为导管的多细胞中空管进行运输。大多数容器都很短，水必须通过容器壁上的微小凹坑从一个容器移动到另一个容器，才能在工厂内长距离传播。维管组织内的许多相互连接的木质部导管结合在一起形成了木质部维管网。尽管木质部导管结构和功能的知识对了解植物水分利用和水分运输很重要，但对导管网络结构的研究仍然很少。这项研究将检测木质部导管网络结构特征，因为它们与木质部高效和安全地运输水分的能力有关。需要检验的最重要的假设是导管结构决定木质部水力功能；然而，研究的重点将集中在三个鲜有研究的特定结构特征上：导管长度、连通性和网络坑面积。重要的是，所有这三个性状都代表了组织水平上的木质部结构特征，都是三维木质部维管网络的特征。这代表着超越传统的木质部结构-功能研究的重要一步，传统的木质部结构-功能研究通常依赖于二维横截面分析。拟议研究完成后产生的信息将提供有关植物水力结构和功能之间的联系的完整知识，特别是木本植物中容器网络结构对水力功能的影响。该项目将把对木质部结构和功能的研究与社区推广和教育项目结合起来，旨在让来自不同背景和学校水平的学生参与科学进程。研究和教育活动将结合起来，通过参与K-12外联方案，参加为地区高中和地区社区学院的学生和教师提供的方案，以及通过来自PI所在机构的本科生和研究生的参与，该机构是一个为少数族裔服务的机构。本科生和研究生将参与数据收集、分析和成果传播，包括在全国会议上展示成果。此外，PI是一家以本科为主的机构的早期职业女性调查员，她和她的学生将从积极的研究和教学整合中受益。

Water is transported in plants through vascular tissue called xylem. Within the xylem of flowering plants, water is transported through multi-celled hollow tubes called vessels. Most vessels are quite short and water must move from one vessel to another, through microscopic pits in the walls of vessels, to travel long distances within a plant. The many interconnected xylem vessels within the vascular tissue combine to form the xylem vessel network. Although knowledge of xylem vessel structure and function is important in understanding plant water use and water transport, the structure of vessel networks remains little studied. This study will examine xylem vessel network structural traits as they relate to the xylem's ability to efficiently and safely transport water. The overarching hypothesis to be tested is that vessel structure determines xylem hydraulic function; however, the focus of the research will be on three specific structural traits that have been little studied: vessel length, connectivity, and network pit area. Importantly, all three of these traits represent xylem structural features at the tissue level and all are features of the three-dimensional xylem vessel network. This represents an important step beyond traditional xylem structure-function studies that often rely on two-dimensional cross-sectional analyses. The information generated by completion of the proposed study will provide integral knowledge of the links between plant hydraulic structure and function, and, specifically, the influence of vessel network structure on hydraulic function in woody plants. The project will integrate research on xylem structure and function with community outreach and educational programs designed to involve students from diverse backgrounds and scholastic levels in the scientific process. Research and educational activities will be combined through involvement in a K-12 outreach program, participation in a program for students and teachers from regional high schools and the regional community college, and through involvement of undergraduate and graduate students from the PI's home institution, which is a minority serving institution. Undergraduate and graduate students will participate in data collection, analysis, and the dissemination of results, including presentation of results at national conferences. Additionally, the PI, who is an early career female investigator at a predominantly undergraduate institution, and her students will benefit from active integration of research and teaching.