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A Lifetime Fascination with Plant Development
Dr. Stan Roux digs into the effects of environmental factors on plant growth and development
As a young person, Dr. Stan Roux wanted to be a gardener when he grew up. “I grew tomato plants and was really intrigued by how you go from a little seed to an incredible plant,” he shared.
Stan studied philosophy and classical languages in college but realized that his interest in nature would not be fulfilled with those areas of study. “I began to take biology courses to satisfy my curiosity, and the more I got into it, the more fascinated I became,” he added, “in fact, during that time, I grew tomato plants from seed that reached 10 feet tall. I had to get a ladder to harvest the tomatoes from the top of the plant.”
Today, Stan is an accomplished Professor of Molecular Biosciences at the University of Texas – Austin. He has spent his career studying signal transduction in plant cells and how environmental stimuli can change plant growth behavior.
Facing a future where climate change will significantly affect crop yields, determining how plants adjust to evolving environments will be crucial. One such way that Stan has studied the effect of the environment on plants was by investigating how the stimuli of light and gravity affect them.
For 25 years, Stan’s lab has received funding from NASA to study the effect of light on the gravity-induced downward growth of plant roots, and on the germination and polarized development of fern spores. “A single spore cell of the fern Ceratopteris can sense and respond to the stimuli of both gravity and light” he shared, “the spore remains dormant unless you activate a light receptor within it called phytochrome by exposing it to light, then gravity directs its polarized growth.”
Once the phytochrome is activated, a visible gravity response happens within the next 24 hours when the central nucleus of single spore cells begins to migrate. “On Earth, the nucleus migrates in one direction from the center to the bottom of the cell,” he shared. “However, in the microgravity environment of outer space, the nucleus of spores flown on the Shuttle migrates in random directions. Gravity was not needed for the nucleus to migrate, just to direct which way it moved.”
These days, Stan’s lab is focused on how a light-regulated nuclear enzyme called apyrase helps control plant growth and development. “Right now, we are studying how an apyrase whose expression and activity are regulated by light can promote the growth and seed yield of plants,” he said. Stan and his team have found that they could modify the structure of the enzyme, making it even more potent to induce improved growth.
Changing its structure allows the enzyme to bind to a different region of DNA and then turn on different genes. “These new genes play a role in the ability of the cell to take up nutrients such as phosphate”, he stated, “and if the plant can take nutrients up better, it will grow more vigorously and have increased seed yield.”
Looking ahead, Stan views single cell analysis as the next frontier of discovery. “By discovering the transcriptome and proteome changes induced by different environmental stimuli in single cells of developing tissues, scientists can gain new insights on how these stimuli promote new tissue to develop from a cell,” he said.
A lifelong fascination with plant development does not stop when he leaves the lab. In his spare time, Stan still enjoys spending time in his home garden. “I continue to be fascinated by how garden fruits and vegetables grow and develop.”
For a deeper dive into Stan Roux’s work, check out his interview from Season 1 of Speaking of Mol Bio. There we learn about his ongoing work on the role of an apyrase enzyme in regulating crop yields, more about his work with NASA, and his excitement for the future of scientific discovery.
Learn more about Dr. Roux’s research on Ceratopteris or find more information on molecular biology techniques and applications, check out the Molecular Biology Resource Library at thermofisher.com.