Final Activity Report Summary - MITAUX (Auxin regulation of the plant mitotic cell cycle)
The aim of the project was to investigate the connection between the signalling pathway of the phytohormone auxin and cell division. We used plant cell cultures to analyse genome-wide transcription levels upon different hormonal treatments. We obtained exciting results as this was the first time that a direct comparison between auxin and cytokinin signalling was possible. Of the many genes that were regulated by these hormone treatments, we were able to identify several cell cycle genes. The function of one of the cell cycle genes, whose expression was found to be dependent on auxin, was analysed in more detail using a loss-of-function mutant approach. This yielded the exciting outcome that the gene regulated cell numbers in a tissue-specific manner thereby controlling lateral root formation. Furthermore, the work undertaken in this project was instrumental in the collaboration with labs studying the function of the Auxin Binding Protein (ABP1).