Novel hormone receptor complexes control organ formation

Plant development is shaped by the hormone auxin. Embryonic development requires auxin gradients already after the first zygotic division, and local extrema of auxin concentration guide initiation of organogenesis and tissue differentiation in post-embryonic development. Recent studies have established molecular principles governing i) auxin gradient formation, ii) intracellular auxin perception and activation of auxin response genes and iii) extracellular auxin perception and cytoskeleton remodelling. In the canonical auxin-signalling pathway, auxin binding to intracellular ubiquitin ligases of the auxin-signalling F-box (AFB) family mediates degradation of Aux/IAA transcriptional repressors. This liberates the auxin response factor (ARF) family of transcription factors to regulate target genes. Nonetheless, it remains an outstanding question how specific responses, ultimately different organs, are generated at auxin maxima in different tissues. Since eukaryotic differentiation is guided by waves of transcription factors, the answer to that question is expected to involve interplay between auxin, ARFs and tissue-specific transcription factors.

The aim of this proposal is to provide a precise molecular and developmental understanding of a novel mechanism for auxin signalling. This pathway involves direct interaction between auxin and transcription factors to regulate gene expression and ultimately tissue polarity.

The student will work in a dynamic environment alongside postdoctoral researchers and will receive a very broad range of training from this project. Particular areas of science include plant developmental genetics, molecular biology, biological chemistry and bio-informatics. The student should therefore be excellently prepared for a career in biology.