Professor Salk Institute for Biological Studies Salk Institute for Biological Studies
The three-dimensional distribution of roots in the soil (Root System Architecture – RSA) determines not only which parts of the soil a plant can extract nutrients and water from, but also determines the residence time of carbon that is deposited by roots in the soil. Deeper root systems might therefore not only have a beneficial effect on drought resistance, due to the ability to access water deeper in the soil column, but also provides a means to sequester carbon in the soil. We are working to identify genetic and molecular mechanisms that can confer deeper rooting to root systems in multiple plant species. For this, we leverage an integrative systems genetics approach that integrates high-throughput phenotyping, chemical genetics, genome-wide-association studies, functional genomics and network approaches.
