Vacuole remodeling in guard cells during stomata movements

气孔是叶片表面的气孔，允许二氧化碳和氧气进行必要的交换，但它们的开口也会导致水分损失。液泡是植物细胞中的细胞器，对气孔功能非常重要。这项研究将确定如何调节空泡的融合来控制毛孔的打开。通过对相关蛋白质的合理重组来调节气孔开度，可以设计出具有可预测气孔行为的作物，增强对水分亏缺的适应能力，并提高产量。这项工作将在植物生物学和工程学之间培养博士后学者、一名研究生和两名本科生。外展活动将在罗利的比较生物学开放日和自然科学博物馆举行。少数族裔高中生将参与为期3天的沉浸式研究体验。本研究的目标是开发一个通过操纵液泡融合动力学来调节气孔开放的预测模型。液泡融合由两个高度保守的蛋白质复合体SNARE和HOPPS调控。一个关于啤酒花-圈套相互作用如何促进融合的动态数学模型概括了本项目的方法和目标，它们是：1)识别保卫细胞中啤酒花-圈套相互作用组的紧急行为。2)量化液泡形态与保卫细胞运动的关系。3)确定控制啤酒花或啤酒花-陷阱相互作用的上游分子信号。我们将使用遗传学、生物化学和定量成像来测试模型派生的关于紧急结果的预测。这一努力将导致我们对细胞器融合的理解取得根本性进展，并可能确定合理的控制模式。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Stomates are pores in leaf surfaces permitting the essential exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen, but their opening can also cause water loss. Vacuoles are organelles in plant cells that are important for stomata function. This research will determine how fusion of vacuoles is regulated to control pore opening. Regulation of pore opening by rational re-engineering of relevant proteins may allow design of crops with predictable stomata behaviors, enhanced resilience to water deficit and improved yield. This work will train postdoctoral scholars, one graduate student, and two undergraduates at the interface between Plant Biology and Engineering. Outreach activities will take place at a comparative biology open-house and the Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. Minority high school students will engage in a 3-day immersive research experience.The goal of this research is to develop a predictive model for regulating stomata opening by manipulating vacuole fusion dynamics. Vacuole fusion is regulated by two highly-conserved protein complexes, SNARE and HOPS. A dynamic mathematical model of how HOPS-SNARE interactions contribute to fusion frames the approaches and aims of this project, which are: 1) Identify emergent behaviors for the HOPS-SNARE interactome in guard cells. 2) Quantify the relationship between vacuole morphology and guard cell movement. 3) Identify the upstream molecular signals that control HOPS or HOPS-SNARE interactions. We will use genetics, biochemistry, and quantitative imaging to test model-derived predictions regarding emergent outcomes. This effort will result in fundamental advances in our understanding of organelle fusion, and it may identify logical modes of control.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.