Alysha Somer, council member

About my research

Root plasticity is an important trait that allows plants to acclimate to environmental changes, like drought stress. Currently, the shoot’s role in root plasticity is not described in depth and only a few shoot-to root signals have been identified. I will study the role of the shoot in root development in response drought stress. I hope to identify and characterize mobile signals derived from the shoot that target root developmental processes to alter root system architecture.