Research focus

We use a combination of live cell imaging, genetics, molecular cloning, pharmacological drugs and omics approaches to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in root development.

Actin cytoskeleton in root hair morphogenesis

During cell growth, the actin cytoskeleton undergoes continuous remodeling to generate mechanical forces that shape the cell and to support intracellular trafficking. These behaviors require precise spatial and temporal coordination among many actin‑associated proteins that collectively build the correct actin architecture for each cellular domain. In growing root hairs, this architecture is highly polarized: the tip maintains fine, highly branched actin filaments that support targeted secretion and membrane expansion, while the shank contains thick, parallel actin bundles that stabilize the elongated cell and organize long‑range transport. By using root hairs as a model for polarized cell growth, our lab investigates which regulators establish these distinct actin networks and how their activities shape cytoskeletal architecture during morphogenesis.

Actin cytoskeleton in mechanical signaling for root growth

The actin cytoskeleton forms a dynamic continuum connecting amyloplasts, endomembrane organelles, the plasma membrane, and the cell wall. Through this continuum, actin networks help perceive and transduce the gravitropic signal generated when amyloplasts sediment in response to gravity. The perturbation of actin via pharmacological disruption, genetic mutations, or altered gravitational orientation using a clinostat produces striking changes in root growth and morphology. These phenotypes highlight actin’s central role in converting physical displacement of amyloplasts into directional growth responses. Our lab investigates how actin‑dependent signaling pathways transform amyloplast movement into a molecular cue that guides root gravitropism, revealing the principles by which cytoskeletal architecture shapes plant behavior.

Root microbe interaction under lunar regolith stress (in collaboration with Gilroy lab, University of Wisconsin Madison)

The use of lunar regolith to grow plants offer a great potential for supporting a sustainable, long-term crewed presence on the Moon. Plants are key in formulating a bio-regenerative life support system that provides food, fertilizers, oxygen, biomanufacturing and mental support for astronauts. Plants can grow in lunar regolith but display severe stress morphologies that are likely caused by lunar regolith structure and chemical composition. This is partly because lunar regolith is completely deficient in biologically available nitrogen, which is essential for plant growth and it also readily compacts, which can stunt root growth through the accumulation of gaseous plant hormone, ethylene. Here, to the address nitrogen deficiency limitation, we are exploring the application of biological nitrogen fixation in the legume model, Medicago truncatula with its rhizobia symbiont, Sinorhizobium melilotti to convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia in a process called nodulation to supply the plant with nitrogen for enhanced growth. Additionally, we are exploring the use of the ethylene synthesis inhibitor, aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG) to reduce ethylene accumulation in lunar regolith to enhance root growth and nodulation.

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