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Updated: Jul 16, 2026
09:23
Lateral Root Inducible System in Arabidopsis and Maize
Published on: January 14, 2016
The (un)likelihood of clock-driven lateral root priming; A modeling exploration.
1Theoretical Biology, IBB, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.
The Plant Cell
|July 14, 2026
Summary
This study challenges the root clock hypothesis for lateral root priming. Mathematical modeling suggests auxin signaling dynamics make a cell-autonomous clock unlikely to drive periodic lateral root formation.
Area of Science:
- Plant biology
- Developmental biology
- Systems biology
Background:
- Lateral root formation is crucial for plant architecture.
- Priming of pericycle cells precedes lateral root development.
- A cell-autonomous root clock is a proposed, yet unproven, mechanism.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the likelihood of a cell-autonomous root clock driving lateral root priming.
- To explore alternative explanations for periodic lateral root initiation.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of oscillator dynamics.
- Modeling of auxin signaling pathways.
- Investigation of gene regulatory networks (AUX/IAA, ARF).
Main Results:
- Single-cell oscillations are restricted to narrow parameter ranges.
- Multiple AUX/IAA and ARF types, plus auxin export, further constrain oscillations.
- Non-meristem based oscillations lack phase memory, preventing periodic prebranch site formation.
Conclusions:
- The root clock hypothesis for lateral root priming is unlikely.
- Emergent tissue-level processes are more plausible drivers of lateral root initiation.
- Auxin signaling dynamics do not support a cell-autonomous clock mechanism.
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