Plants create a variety of lateral organs, such as roots, leaves, and flowers, as they grow. Each of these new organs has specific functions that are important for plants, and they all impact agricultural yields in crop plants. Research suggests that there are both developmental similarities and differences between the different organ types. The basis of this is unclear. Many genes are known to contribute to the creation of lateral organs, with some genes impacting one organ type and others impact more than one. Understanding the common and different functions of plant genes in the development of different organ types is an important goal which can help crop improvement. However, there is a limitation in the technology available to study this at a scale that will be informative. The goal of this proposal is to create a semi-automated system to determine what genes are active in different lateral organ types. This system will be able to look at many genes in parallel, an advantage over older technologies. The project will also compare two divergent plant species and define the role of a cell signaling pathway on gene function in different organ types to help understand how evolution and cell signaling pathways shape lateral organ formation. Lastly, the project will create databases for other scientists to use in their research, and a workshop to train other scientists on the use of the semi-automated system, which will enable other researchers to use this approach in their stu