Plant geometry - understanding the molecular basis of gravitropism and growth angle control

Gravitropism is a fundamental process in the control of plant architecture and yet despite more than a century of research the mechanisms by which primary roots and shoots maintain vertical growth remain poorly understood. Recent work in the Kepinski and Peckham groups at the University of Leeds have combined molecular and genetic methods and novel plant imaging/computer vision techniques to uncover crucial clues as to the nature of the basic mechanism by which plants can detect their orientation in the gravity field and alter their growth accordingly. This project will explore and extend these new insights using genetic, biochemical and cell biological approaches, to elucidate how the physical signal of sedimenting amyloplasts within specialised gravity-sensing cells is converted into a biochemical signal that controls the distribution of auxin within plants organs and ultimately their angle of growth with respect to gravity.