The Developmental Regulation of Cellulose Synthesis in Dictyostelium discoideum

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Cellulose synthesis is a significant activity of the differentiating cells of the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum, but the role of cellulose during development and the control of its synthesis have received little attention in the literature. The objectives of this project are: to determine the rates, sites, and timing of cellulose synthesis; to analyze the cellulose found in each of four distinct extracellular structures to see if there are biophysical differences in the cellulose that can be related to differences in cellular structures or control; to determine if cellulose synthesis is at any time a cell-type specific process; to describe the interactions between cellulose and extracellular matrix proteins in structuring the stalk tube; to characterize mutant strains that are unable to synthesize cellulose or are somehow altered in their cellulose synthesis; and to identify the gene for cellulose synthase and thereby study the molecular control of cellulose synthesis. The results of this project are significant not only for the contribution they will make to our knowledge of D. discoideum development, but also for what they may tell us about the control of cellulose synthesis in plants.