Brassinosteroids (BRs) are steroid hormones essential for plant growth and development as well as for the adaptation to drought. A wealth of studies report the importance of BRs in superior plants, mostly Arabidopsis. How BRs modulate root formation and adaptation to abiotic stress in monocot cereals awaits to be understood. In this study, we explore the role of BRs in root growth and development in cereal Sorghum bicolor. We focus on the analysis of embryonic roots by implementing a set of in vitro and microscopy techniques, such as mPS-PI and EdU staining. Our analysis reveals the organization of the primary root in how different cell types at the root apex behave in response to BRs and abiotic stress. In addition, we used a mutant collection of Sorghum bicolor to identify a number of mutants in BR signalling components. Mutant analysis will be key to begin to decipher the role of BRs in sorghum primary root growing in normal and stress conditions, and will be instrumental for their future improvement.

Resumen del póster presentado al Congreso 'At the Forefront of Plant Research', celebrado en Barcelona (España) del 6 al 8 de mayo de 2019.

Peer reviewed