Arabidopsis Thalia Essay

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The Arabidopsis Thaliana, commonly known as the Thale Cress, is a small plant in the cabbage family that makes for a great model organism because of its short lifecycle and small, already sequenced genome. Studies have shown that the five factors that affect root growth are gravity, light, temperature, water, and plant growth hormones. Of these plant growth hormones are auxins and cytokinins, which work together to guide the development of plant organs in response to environmental stimuli [1][2]. Auxin is responsible for apical growth, otherwise known as primary growth, while cytokinins are responsible for lateral growth, or secondary growth. However, of the abiotic factors on Earth, there is a scientific consensus that gravity (demonstrates …show more content…

found that root cell walls have several important functions such as preventing cells from bursting due to internal turgor, enabling roots to push through the soil, and protecting cells against the environment [3]. Furthermore, research shows that root cell walls are extremely responsive to their environment, with modifications to increase growth and nutrient uptake. For example, research conducted by Rayon et al. shows how different abiotic stresses result in unique responses from a plant cell wall [4]. However, Persson et al. concluded that while individual components of the root cell walls are well known, there is still not enough information to make connections for possible pathways [5]. For example, pectins, a polysaccharide (sugar) found in root cells walls, form a dense aqueous wall matrix and connect cell wall polymers around and between cells; additionally, XTH genes are a family of genes that are the most well-documented for cell wall modification- they loosen cell walls and are regulated by auxin and play a role in acclimation to light [6]. Similarly, the research of Rayon et al. also support this finding as they concluded that expansins, XTHs, and PMEs were all involved in response to light

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