A Systems Study of Nutrient Uptake in Plants

This study focused on improving phosphorus-use efficiency in crops, particularly rice and Arabidopsis, by using systems approaches to understand phosphate uptake regulation at multiple spatial scales. At the cellular level, novel mathematical models were developed to explore molecular regulation, revealing that miR399-mediated degradation was insufficient to explain early PHO2 mRNA reduction, suggesting a phosphate-sensitive transcriptional repressor might be involved. Sensitivity analysis highlighted cytosolic phosphate utilisation as a key influence. The study also examined tissue geometry's role in root phosphate levels, finding that trichoblasts in Arabidopsis are more sensitive to phosphate stress, potentially triggering root-hair growth. In rice, aerenchyma and lacunae were identified as important for efficient phosphate uptake. Additionally, a 21-day time-course dataset was created to study the effects of phosphate starvation on the uptake of other nutrients, providing valuable data for future research.