CPIB Aims
The Centre for Plant Integrative Biology (CPIB) will create a virtual root, which will serve as an exemplar for using Integrative Systems Biology (ISB) in a multi-cellular system. The virtual root will be capable of integration with the virtual shoot being developed in the Computable Plant project at Caltech, paving the way for a virtual higher plant. Moreover, while the root has largely been neglected in breeding programmes, it is the organ that dictates a plant's growth and development, through water and nutrient uptake and respo nse to abiotic stress, and is therefore a prime candidate for integrative approaches.
CPIB will:
- Focus on the regulation of root growth during radicle emergence and seedling establishment.
- Play a crucial role in the development of sustainable crops by providing an ISB-based virtual system to probe genetic-environment interactions associated with root growth and function .
- Initially work on Arabidopsis thaliana (At) since it is the pre-eminent reference specie for crops which uniquely has the advanced knowledge base necessary to realistically initiate ISB in plants.
- Seamlessly integrate advanced experimental and imaging approaches developed to study At root development with innovative mathematical, engineering and computer science research.