DynaLines. Drawing lines in a dynamic environment: delineating domains from base to tip in plants

“从如此简单的开始，最美丽、最奇妙的无穷无尽的形式已经并正在进化”(达尔文)。这不仅适用于物种多样性，在发展过程中也是如此。由无定形的细胞团形成复杂的组织和器官，结合在一起使有机体能够与其环境相互作用。器官形状是如何定义的，是否存在共同的潜在机制，以及这种机制如何适应以产生不同的形状，这些都是核心悬而未决的问题。DyaLines将揭示一个基本的模式形成机制，该机制定义了植物器官的形状，以及它是如何在进化过程中被改变以产生形态创新的。器官发育的一个关键步骤是描绘具有独特身份的细胞组。植物组织形态是由于这些区域以不同的速度生长而产生的，并影响着植物生活的方方面面。尽管结构域模式很重要，但人们对其组成成分以及它们在植物器官发育过程中的动态调控知之甚少。草叶的基端到顶端是一个很好的模型，因为它具有不同的结构域，具有重要的农学功能。由于缺乏工具、无法获得发育中的叶片和遗传冗余，对日期的研究一直受到阻碍。单细胞RNA序列和空间蛋白质分析，再加上我最近在实时成像、计算建模和转基因工具方面的进展，现在使这一点成为可能。使用这些工具，我将揭示在草叶中描绘领域的机制，识别定义领域的组件，并首次将它们置于空间和时间上下文中。比较不同的器官和物种将揭示保守的机制，并确定形状多样性背后的关键变化。我的新方法将改变我们对植物发育和进化的理解，并将揭示关键农艺性状的重要机制，为作物的精确工程铺平道路。

"from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved" (Darwin). This is notonly true for diversity in species, but also during development. From amorphous groups of cells complex tissues and organs form,combining to make an organism able to interact with its environment. How organ shape is defined, whether there is a commonunderlying mechanism, and how this has been adapted to generate diverse shapes, are core unanswered questions. DynaLines willreveal a fundamental patterning mechanism that defines plant organ shape and how it has been altered over evolution to generatemorphological innovation. A key step in organ development is the delineation of groups of cells with unique identities. Plant organshape arises due to these domains growing at different rates and influences all aspects of plant life. Despite the importance of domainpatterning, the components and how they are regulated in the dynamic context of a developing plant organ is poorly understood.The base-to-tip of the grass leaf is an excellent model as it has distinct domains with agronomically important functions. To datestudies have been hampered by a lack of tools, inaccessibility of the developing leaves and genetic redundancy. Single-cell RNAseqand spatial protein analysis combined with my recent advances in live imaging, computational modelling and transgenic tools ingrasses now makes this possible. Using these tools, I will reveal the mechanism that delineates domains in the grass leaf, identifyingcomponents that define domains and placing them in a spatial and temporal context for the first time. Comparing different organsand species will reveal the conserved mechanism and identify key changes behind shape diversity. My novel approach will be a step-changein our understanding of plant development and evolution, and will uncover a mechanism important for key agronomic traits,paving the way for precision engineering of crops.