Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Research on the growth and development of model organism P. patens gives insight into the evolutionary history of developmental processes in land plants. Auxin is a phytohormone involved in regulating several developmental processes in the vegetative stage of the moss gametophyte. We investigate the understudied role of auxin in the early development of the sporophyte and that of the female sexual organ (archegonium) post fertilization. We treat P. patens with auxin and auxin related compounds, study lines with knockout mutations in auxin biosynthesis and transport genes and study reporter lines of those same genes. We found that auxin treatment can trigger archegonium enlargement independent of fertilization and that auxin treatment interferes with the ability for sporophytes to develop from the fertilized egg cell. We also found that auxin biosynthesis and transport gene expression changes and shifts location as the egg cell is fertilized and developes into a mature sporophyte. Knocking out biosynthesis and transport genes causes different defects in sporophyte development. This research gives an increased insight into these processes and simultaneously raises several new questions.