Organ.
Circumnutation plays a vital role in root penetration and navigation through obstacles (Taylor et al., 2021 PNAS). My research aims to uncover its broader biological significance at the organ level, particularly in how roots adapt to changing growth conditions.
Using a natural collection of 1,568 rice cultivars, I am leveraging high-throughput robotic imaging to phenotype circumnutation behaviors in roots. So far, we have phenotyped 357 cultivars, quantifying their circumnutation frequency and amplitude. I will continue phenotyping the entire HDRA Germplasm Collection to tap into these natural variations. Next, we will conduct a GWAS study to identify key genes and genomic elements that regulate this behavior.
While generating mutant libraries can be labor-intensive, the natural diversity within rice cultivars, shaped by their native climates and soils, provides a rich resource. To further understand the biological significance of circumnutation, we will select approximately 20 cultivars with distinct circumnutation patterns—strong, intermediate, and weak—and evaluate their performance under soil stresses like drought and heat, which are increasingly relevant due to climate change.
Additionally, I will explore how circumnutation may help roots cope with biotic stresses and how interactions with microbiota might influence circumnutation patterns, potentially enhancing the plant’s ability to adapt to environmental changes.