The root system is a major determinant of a plant's access to water and nutrients. The architecture of the root system to a large extent depends on the repeated formation of new lateral roots. In this review, we discuss lateral root development from a systems biology perspective. We focus on studies combining experiments with computational modeling that have advanced our understanding of how the auxin-centered regulatory modules involved in different stages of lateral root development exert their specific functions. Moreover, we discuss how these regulatory networks may enable robust transitions from one developmental stage to the next, a subject that thus far has received limited attention. In addition, we analyze how environmental factors impinge on these modules, and the different manners in which these environmental signals are being integrated to enable coordinated developmental decision making. Finally, we provide some suggestions for extending current models of lateral root development to incorporate multiple processes and stages. Only through more comprehensive models we can fully elucidate the cooperative effects of multiple processes on later root formation, and how one stage drives the transition to the next.

根系是植物获得水和养分的主要决定因素。根系的结构在很大程度上取决于新的侧根的重复形成。在这篇综述中，我们从系统生物学的角度讨论侧根的发育。我们专注于将实验与计算模型相结合的研究，这些研究使我们进一步了解了侧根发育不同阶段所涉及的以生长素为中心的调控模块如何发挥其特定功能。此外，我们讨论了这些监管网络如何实现从一个发展阶段到下一阶段的稳健过渡，这是迄今为止受到关注的课题。此外，我们分析了环境因素如何影响这些模块，以及整合这些环境信号以进行协调的发展决策的不同方式。最后，我们为扩展当前的侧根发育模型提供了一些建议，以纳入多个过程和阶段。只有通过更全面的模型，我们才能充分阐明多个过程对后来的根形成的协同作用，以及一个阶段如何推动向下一阶段的过渡。