Abstract

Specification and maintenance of cell identity are central processes of development. In an effort to understand the regulatory networks that control cell identity, we have profiled all cell types and developmental stages within a single organ, the Arabidopsis root. To acquire global expression profiles we developed technology that uses sorted marked populations of cells with subsequent hybridization of the labelled RNA to microarrays. We are using computational methods to infer networks functioning within different cell types and developmental stages and have begun to test the hypothesized relationships. Our current efforts are aimed at understanding the responses to environmental stimuli at high spatio-temporal resolution. We are developing new expression analysis platforms and means of analyzing 4-D data sets. We are also analyzing the dynamics of growth of physical root networks using novel non-invasive imaging methods and developing mathematical descriptors of network architecture.

http://www.biology.duke.edu/benfeylab/philip.htm