Mechanisms of Transport Through Plasmodesmata

细胞之间的交流对于任何多细胞生物体的正常发育都是必不可少的。植物中细胞间通讯的一种重要且独特的形式是通过胞间连丝（嵌入细胞壁中的专门通道）运输基于蛋白质和RNA的信号而发生的。尽管它的核心重要性，植物的发育，生理和防御，一般机制和运输通过胞间连丝调控知之甚少。该项目将使用遗传学，基因组学和细胞生物学方法来了解调控蛋白KNOTTED1（KN 1）如何能够在细胞之间传输重要的发育信号。已经开发了一种新的遗传筛选来发现参与KN1细胞到细胞运输的基因。杰克逊实验室已经用这种方法鉴定了一种基因，一种伴侣蛋白。这一发现是令人兴奋的，因为它表明了一种机制，通过这种机制，KN 1蛋白被部分解折叠，以允许其通过胞间连丝通道运输。本研究将通过实验来了解伴侣蛋白与KN 1之间相互作用的机制和发育意义。预计该项目将导致发现控制PD运输的新基因和机制，并更好地了解植物生长和发育。鉴于胞间连丝在植物生长过程中光合产物的分配以及植物对病原体的防御方面的重要性，从该项目中获得的知识将为美国农业带来潜在的改进。该项目还将培训一些不同层次的年轻科学家，并开发资源，使高中生走到植物生物学研究的最前沿。

Communication between cells is essential for the proper development of any multi-cellular organism. An important and unique form of cell-to-cell communication in plants occurs by the trafficking of protein and RNA based signals through plasmodesmata, specialized channels that are embedded in the cell wall. Despite its central importance to plant development, physiology and defense, the general mechanism and regulation of trafficking through plasmodesmata is poorly understood. This project will use genetic, genomic and cell biological approaches to understand how a regulatory protein, KNOTTED1 (KN1), is able to traffic between cells to transmit important developmental signals. A novel genetic screen has been developed to discover the genes that are involved in KN1 cell-to-cell trafficking. The Jackson lab has already identified one gene, a chaperonin, using this approach. This discovery is exciting, because it suggests a mechanism by which the KN1 protein is partially unfolded to allow its transport through the plasmodesmal channel. Experiments will be performed to understand the mechanism and developmental significance of the interaction between chaperonins and KN1. It is expected that the project will lead to the discovery of new genes and mechanisms that control PD trafficking, and a better understanding of plant growth and development. Given the fundamental importance of plasmodesmata for the allocation of photosynthetic products during plant growth, and for plant defense against pathogens, knowledge gained from this project will bring potential improvements to US agriculture. This project will also train a number of young scientists at various levels, as well as develop resources for bringing high school students to the forefront of plant biology research.