Role of RHAMNOSE BIOSYNTHESIS 1 in cell growth and patterning

研究植物细胞的表面图案是了解其功能的关键。从帮助传粉昆虫抓住花瓣到降低植物细胞表面的润湿性。此外，了解这种细胞结构是如何实现的，可以为纳米技术和新型生物启发材料的设计提供新的方法。本项目结合遗传学、生物化学和数学方法，研究细胞壁相关果胶分子如何影响植物细胞的形状和表面图案，并促进植物细胞的机械特性。通过该项目，来自弱势群体的本科生、一名研究生和一名博士后将在实验生物学和数学建模的界面上接受跨学科的培训。此外，这个项目的结果将通过针对高中生和纽黑文地区社区的外展项目与公众交流。PI实验室最近的工作表明，鼠李糖生物合成1 （RHM1）基因的突变会影响果胶的组成，并在细胞形态上显示出惊人的模式缺陷，导致细胞具有左旋螺旋扭曲和各向异性生长的减少。虽然果胶已被证明在调节细胞扩增中发挥重要作用，但这是第一个被描述的影响果胶生物合成的螺旋突变体，因此为阐明含有鼠李糖的果胶在调节植物细胞形状方面的潜在作用提供了一个令人兴奋的新进展。通过遗传学和生物化学方法的结合，微力学测试和数学建模，阐明鼠李糖在控制细胞结构中的作用。通过该项目获得的结果将有可能揭示果胶成分如何影响细胞壁的模式和生长，提供酶活性，细胞壁结构和超细胞模式事件之间令人兴奋的联系。实验方法与可测试的数学模型的结合将为理解果胶凝胶基质如何反馈调节细胞生长和形成所必需的细胞和亚细胞过程奠定基础。

The study of surface patterning of plant cells is critical to understanding their function. These range from helping pollinating insects grip petals to decreasing the wettability of plant cell surfaces. In addition, understanding how this cell architecture is achieved can provide new approaches in nanotechnology and the design of novel bioinspired materials. This project combines genetics, biochemistry, and mathematical approaches to investigate how cell wall associated pectin molecules affect plant cell shape and surface pattern and contribute to the mechanical properties of plant cells. Through this project, undergraduates from underrepresented backgrounds, a graduate student and a postdoctoral associate will receive interdisciplinary training at the interface of experimental biology and mathematical modeling. In addition, the results from this project will be communicated to the public through outreach programs aimed at high school students and at the New Haven area community. Recent work from the PI's lab has shown that mutations in the gene encoding Rhamnose Biosynthesis 1 (RHM1) affect pectin composition and show striking patterning defects in cell morphology, resulting in cells with a left-handed helical twist and a reduction in anisotropic growth. While pectins have been shown to play important roles in regulating cell expansion, this is the first described helical mutant that affects pectin biosynthesis, and so provides an exciting new inroad into elucidating the potential roles of rhamnose-containing pectins in modulating plant cell shape. Through a combination of genetic and biochemical approaches with micro-mechanical testing and mathematical modeling, the role of rhamnose in controlling cell architecture will be elucidated. The results obtained through this project will have the potential to shed new light on how pectin composition can affect cell wall patterning and growth, providing an exciting link between enzyme activity, cell wall architecture, and supracellular patterning events. The combination of experimental approaches with testable mathematical models will lay the groundwork for understanding how the pectin gel matrix can feed back on cellular and subcellular processes necessary to regulate cell growth and form.