The Developmental Regulation of Cellulose Synthesis in Dictyostelium discoideum

纤维素合成是盘基网柄菌细胞黏液霉菌分化细胞的一项重要活动，但其在发育过程中的作用及其合成的调控在文献中鲜有报道。这个项目的目标是：确定纤维素合成的速率、地点和时间；分析在四个不同的胞外结构中发现的每一个中的纤维素，以确定纤维素中是否存在与细胞结构或控制的差异有关的生物物理差异；确定纤维素合成在任何时候是否是细胞类型的特定过程；描述纤维素和细胞外基质蛋白在构建茎管过程中的相互作用；鉴定不能合成纤维素或在纤维素合成过程中发生某种改变的突变菌株；鉴定纤维素合成酶基因，从而研究纤维素合成的分子控制。这个项目的结果不仅对我们了解盘状芽孢杆菌的发育做出了贡献，而且对我们控制植物中的纤维素合成也有重要的意义。

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.