Because shoot systems are entirely dependent on root systems for their supply or water and mineral nutrients, shoot and root growth are highly coordinated by root-to-shoot and shoot-to-root signalling. We are interested in understanding how plants use information in their root environment to determine their shoot growth. There is a very strong influence of nutrient availability on shoot growth, but we are particularly interested in understanding how physical and biological cues in the rhizosphere alter the way plants grow even when nutrients are abundant.
Topics
Limitations on branching, biomass & yield
Plant-plant communication in the rhizosphere
People working on this project:
Publications
- There and back again: An evolutionary perspective on long-distance coordination of plant growth and development. Wheeldon CD, Bennett T (2020). Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semcdb.2020.06.0
- Root density sensing allows pro-active modulation of shoot growth to avoid future resource limitation. Wheeldon CD, Walker CH, Bennett T (2019). doi.org/10.1101/539726
Tom Bennett Lab 