Neha Bhatia
Research Group Leader
Sainsbury Laboratory
University of Cambridge
Bateman Street
Cambridge CB2 1LR
Email: nb759@cam.ac.uk
Join or collaborate with the Bhatia Group
If you're interested in investigating the mechanistic basis of the function of the plant hormone cytokinin (CK) in plant development using Arabidopsis thaliana as model, and would like to discuss the positions or opportunities to collaborate, please get in touch with Neha Bhatia via email at nb759@cam.ac.uk.
Cellular and molecular frameworks of multi-faceted actions of cytokinin
Cytokinins (CKs) are a class of plant hormones that are fundamental to plant development and are conventionally considered to promote cell division in plant aerial organs. However, recent findings suggest that, surprisingly, CKs can also promote cellular differentiation and expansion in aerial organs, in a stage-dependent manner. Therefore, the roles of CKs in shaping plant aerial organs are much more diverse than previously thought. How CKs regulate and coordinate cell proliferation and differentiation decisions during development remains largely unclear.
By integrating genetic analyses including genetic mosaics, quantitative live imaging, and single cell omics, we are exploring multi-faceted roles of CKs in plant development, using Arabidopsis thaliana leaves as model.
Specifically, we are focusing on (i) how CKs regulate cell proliferation and differentiation and (ii) how are these distinct cellular effects coordinated in space and time during aerial organ development.
Our key questions are:
- How are CK metabolic and signaling genes patterned during leaf development?
- What are the relative roles of CK mediated proliferation and differentiation in leaf development?
- What is the range of CK action in regulating cell proliferation and differentiation?
- What are the diverse genetic pathways underlying multiple facets of CK action?
Cytokinin patterning during leaf development
We will explore the spatiotemporal distribution of CK signaling, synthesis and catabolism during leaf development. This is a challenging endeavor as CK has diverse cellular effects at different stages of organ development. We aim to capture spatiotemporal expression patterns of genes involved in CK signaling, synthesis, response, and degradation during leaf development at cellular resolution.
Role of cytokinin mediated proliferation and differentiation in leaf development
We are working to develop a quantitative understanding of how CK controls the amount and duration of cellular growth and proliferation during leaf development. We will use a combination of time-lapse imaging and cell-fate mapping to capture cellular growth dynamics and compute cellular growth patterns in A. thaliana leaves with genetic and transgene based increased and decreased CK function, in relation to wild type. We aim to develop a growth-based framework of CK action in leaf development. Further, by using a genetic mosaics approach, we are also investigating the range of CK action in regulating cell proliferation and differentiation during leaf morphogenesis.
Time-lapse imaging and cell fate mapping to quantify cellular growth patterns in Arabidopsis leaves.
Genetic pathways underlying multiple facets of cytokinin action
Cell proliferation and differentiation are two distinct developmental processes mediated by CK. Transitioning from cell proliferation to differentiation is an important development decision that must be coordinated in space and time. One possible mechanism through which CK may mediate this coordination is via altering the genetic pathways to promote proliferation and differentiation, at the right time during development.
In order to understand how CK orchestrates cell proliferation and differentiation during development, we will use use a comparative single-nucleus (sn) multiome approach to explore (i) the transcriptomic signatures underlying two distinct developmental decisions mediated by CK, and (ii) diverse gene regulatory logic in single cells undergoing different developmental decisions in response to CK.
Research Publications
Zi-Liang Hu#, David Wilson-Sánchez#, Neha Bhatia, Madlen I. Rast-Somssich, Anhui Wu, Daniela Vlad, Liam McGuire, Lachezar A. Nikolov, Patrick Laufs, Xiangchao Gan, Stefan Laurent, Adam Runions, Miltos Tsiantis. A CUC1/auxin genetic module links cell polarity to patterned tissue growth and leaf shape diversity in crucifer plants. PNAS Vol 121 NO.26 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.23218771
Neha Bhatia, David Wilson-Sánchez, Sören Strauss, Francesco Vuolo, Bjorn Pieper, Ziliang Hu, Lea Rambaud-Lavigne, Miltos Tsiantis. Interspersed expression of CUP-SHAPED COTYLEDON 2 and REDUCED COMPLEXITY shapes complex leaf form in Cardamine hirsuta. Current Biology 33 (2023), pp. 2977-2987. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.06.037
Abdul Kareem, Neha Bhatia, Carolyn Ohno, Marcus Heisler. PIN-FORMED1 polarity in the plant shoot epidermis is insensitive to the polarity of neighboring cells. iScience, Vol 25 (2022) Issue 10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.105062
Mohsen Hajheidari, Yi Wang, Neha Bhatia, Francesco Vuolo, José Manuel Franco-Zorrilla, Michal Karady, Remco A. Mentink, Anhui Wu, Bello Rilwan Oluwatobi, Bruno Müller, Raffaele Dello Ioio, Stefan Laurent, Karin Ljung, Peter Huijser, Xiangchao Gan and Miltos Tsiantis. Autoregulation of RCO by Low-Affinity Binding Modulates Cytokinin Action and Shapes Leaf Diversity. Current Biology 29 (2019), pp. 4183-4192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.10.040
Neha Bhatia, Henrik Åhl, Henrik Jönsson and Marcus G. Heisler (2019). Quantitative analysis of auxin sensing in leaf primordia argues against proposed role in regulating leaf dorsoventrality. eLIFE (3928). https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.39298
Ting Li#, An Yan#, Neha Bhatia#, Alphan Altinok, Eldad Afik, Pauline-Durand-Smet, Paul T. Tarr, Julian I. Schroeder, Marcus G. Heisler, Elliot M. Meyerowitz (2019). Calcium signals in the plant stem-cell-niche and their role in initiating auxin transporter polarity. Nature Communications (726). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-08575-6
Caggiano M. P#, Yu X#, Bhatia N#, Larsson A, Ram H, Ohno C. K, Sappl P, Meyerowitz E. M, Jönsson, H. and Heisler M. G. (2017). Cell type boundaries organize plant development. eLIFE 6, e27421. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.27421
Bhatia, N., Bozorg, B., Larsson, A., Ohno, C., Jönsson, H. and Heisler, M. G. (2016). Auxin acts through MONOPTEROS to regulate plant cell polarity and pattern phyllotaxis. Current Biology 26, 3202-3208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.09.044
*Note*: This publication was accompanied by an editorial dispatch by Prof. Dolf Weijers- “Phyllotaxis: A Matthew Effect in Auxin Action” in the same issue. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.10.019
#Equal contribution
Review articles
David Wilson-Sánchez, Neha Bhatia, Adam Runions, Miltos Tsiantis (2022). From genes to shape in leaf development and evolution. Current Biology, Volume 32, Issue 21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.09.021
Neha Bhatia, Adam Runions and Miltos Tsiantis (2021). Leaf Shape Diversity: From Genetic Modules to Computational Models. Annual Reviews in Plant Biology, Vol. 72:325-356. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-arplant-080720-101613
Neha Bhatia and Marcus. G. Heisler MG (2018). Self-organizing periodicity in development: organ positioning in plants. Development. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.149336
Commentaries
Tsiantis M and Bhatia N: H1 Connect Recommendation of [Roberts Kingman GA et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2022 118(31:)]. In H1 Connect, 04 Jan 2022. https://doi.org/10.3410/f.740583920.793590785
Tsiantis M and Bhatia N: H1 Connect Recommendation of [Muroyama A et al., Curr Biol 2020 30(22:4467-4475.e4)]. In H1 Connect, 29 Oct 2020. https://doi.org/10.3410/f.738696045.793579663