第1479回生物科学セミナー
Structure-function relationships explored with X-ray 3D imaging in plants
Prof. Craig Brodersen（School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, CT USA）
2024年01月11日(木) 16:50-18:35 理学部2号館223号室及びZoom
Recent developments in X-ray micro-computed tomography imaging now provide unprecedented, non-invasive access to the three-dimensional structure of plants, allowing us to explore the relationship between cellular architecture and physiology. Our lab is primarily focused on the 3D cellular organization of leaves and stems, with the long-term goal of understanding how evolutionary selective pressures have shaped the plants we see today. Our research group has identified that many species have leaves apparently optimized for minimal investment of carbon by organizing the spongy mesophyll into a honeycomb architecture, particularly in species that occupy low-light environments (1). In contrast, species with high photosynthetic rates occupying high-light environments tend to have leaves with a completely different cellular arrangement that increases the total amount of surface area for the absorption of CO2. In stems, our group has identified the key xylem network traits that facilitate the efficient long-distance transport of water from roots to the canopy, while still providing a safe and drought resistant transport system during stress events such as drought. Notably, the organization of xylem conduits both influence the pressure gradients that arise during transpiration (2), but also determine how easily gas bubbles spread throughout the network during drought (3. We then applied this new theoretical understanding to address a long-standing, unresolved pattern in the fossil record regarding the organization of xylem networks in the earliest land plants (4). Finally, our group is applying this new information to determine whether leaves, stems, and root systems can be manipulated to produce more resilient crop varieties (5).
参考文献
1) Borsuk, A. M., Roddy, A. B., Théroux‐Rancourt, G. & Brodersen, C. R. New Phytologist 234, 946-960 (2022).
2) Bouda, M., Windt, C. W., McElrone, A. J. & Brodersen, C. R. Nature Communications 10, 1-10 (2019).
3) Wason, J. et al. Plant Physiology 186, 373-387 (2021).
4) Bouda, M. et al. Science 378, 642-646 (2022).
5) Procko et al. 2022 Procko, C. et al. The Plant Cell (2022).
担当： 東京大学大学院理学系研究科・生物科学専攻・植物生態学研究室
