Identification and validation of candidate genes for resistance to soil-borne Rhizoctonia solani in Brassica crop species

Auxin orchestrates nearly every aspect of plant growth and development, and thus represents a crucial target in improving food security. However, despite its importance, we lack fundamental knowledge of the regulation of the plant's overall auxin distribution, and how this impacts plant architecture. This project will use a modelling approach to understand how the auxin economy impacts Arabidopsis seedling growth. Auxin is synthesised in the plant's shoot and root tips, and can travel long distances to regulate growth far from its synthesis site; however, the relative importance of auxin synthesis and long-distance transport for controlling growth phenotypes is unknown; this project will investigate the hypothesis that long-distance transport controls the overall auxin economy to determine seedling architecture. To analyse how long-distance transport impacts seedling architecture, this project will develop computational models to simulate seedling auxin dynamics and growth, building on the established SimRoot root-system modelling framework. The model will form a unique platform to investigate precisely how organism-scale auxin dynamics control seedling growth.