Fundamental research by 2019 WSU Crop and Soil Sciences doctoral graduate Thiel Lehman was featured this summer in Plant and Cell Physiology.
Advised by assistant professor Karen Sanguinet, Lehman studies interactions between plant cell walls and auxin, a key hormone in plant growth.
Featured in the journal’s July Research Highlights, Lehman’s work explores how coordination between auxin and cell wall biosynthesis is a key driver for root growth.
Working with Sanguinet, he found that auxin reduced swelling in plant roots with destabilized cell walls, showing evidence that cell wall biosynthesis feedback regulates auxin movement into and out of cells. This research could help scientists better understand how plants regulate their growth.
Read the article here.