Characterization and algorithmic modeling of root nitrogen in a heterogeneous nitrate environment.

Summary

The root system, the anchoring organ in plants, performs the function of acquiring water and nutrients. Since plants often encounter heterogeneous soils, their balance between resource use and soil exploration must be optimized, especially since the latter is a necessary but costly process. The aim of this project is to better understand and model the behavior of the root system when faced with a choice between environments that differ in their nutrient availability.

By optimizing the split-root experimental system, the dynamic measurement of root system architecture in response to nitrate heterogeneity will be algorithmically modeled within the mathematical framework of "Bandit-Manchot" in the model species Arabidopsis. In addition, the exploitation of an environment also depends on transport activity, whose response dynamics with respect to development and growth will be characterized within a range of genotypes of interest (e.g., between ecotypes whose root systems appear very different under heterogeneous conditions). This component will then be integrated into the model.

This interdisciplinary project responds to two challenges:

1. to identify relevant targets that decouple the functions of development/growth and transport to improve nitrate acquisition in plants
2. to establish bio-inspired decision algorithms that could potentially provide optimization solutions in very diverse fields such as robotics or computational engineering.

Contact : 

• Cannelle Armengaud
• Linkedin

Publications

• Armengaud C., Zheng X., Crabos A., Navlakha S. and Ruffel S. Strategies of adaptation of the root acquisition system in a heterogeneous nitrate environment in Arabidopsis. Ecole scientifique CNRS VAST Vietnam Academy for Science and Technology (Advances in plant genomics for sustainable agriculture under climate change). Hanoï Vietnam 21 au 25 Octobre 2024
• Cannelle Armengaud, Fanchon Divol, Alexandre Soriano, Fanny Garcia, Cléa Maurines Carboneill, et al.. Role of hormone peptides in the systemic regulation of white lupin cluster roots development. Plant peptides and receptors meeting, Oct 2023, Lyon (Maison des Sciences de l'Homme), France. ⟨hal-04362175⟩