Auxin Control of Root Development
- 1Department of Biology, Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota 55105
- 2Department of Biology, Kobe University, Rokkodai 1-1, 657-8501, Kobe, Japan
- 3Department of Plant Systems Biology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium
- 4Department of Plant Biotechnology and Genetics, Ghent University, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium
- Correspondence: tom.beeckman{at}psb.ugent.be
Abstract
A plant's roots system determines both the capacity of a sessile organism to acquire nutrients and water, as well as providing a means to monitor the soil for a range of environmental conditions. Since auxins were first described, there has been a tight connection between this class of hormones and root development. Here we review some of the latest genetic, molecular, and cellular experiments that demonstrate the importance of generating and maintaining auxin gradients during root development. Refinements in the ability to monitor and measure auxin levels in root cells coupled with advances in our understanding of the sources of auxin that contribute to these pools represent important contributions to our understanding of how this class of hormones participates in the control of root development. In addition, we review the role of identified molecular components that convert auxin gradients into local differentiation events, which ultimately defines the root architecture.
Footnotes
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Editors: Mark Estelle, Dolf Weijers, Ottoline Leyser, and Karin Ljung
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Additional Perspectives on Auxin Signaling available at www.cshperspectives.org
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