- Integrate mechanisms of physiology and plant development that are known to affect different aspects of plant success.
- Describe how components of these mechanisms interact and how that interaction leads to observable traits in the plant—the phenotype.
The mechanisms we are working on include branching, flowering and symbioses. They encompass how water, carbohydrates, amino acids, sugar and nutrient transport and signalling work, together with hormones, to drive these processes.
Genes, molecular interactions, hormones, sizes and numbers of plant parts, and the environment are also at play.
Understanding all of this is a huge and long vision
We will start by integrating our team’s extensive knowledge of these mechanisms with existing knowledge.
Building on existing connections within and between mechanisms, we will discover new connections through classical approaches such as:
- genetic analyses of mutant combinations
- physiological studies (such as grafting)
- environmental responses (photoperiod, heat, water challenges).
