Mechanisms controlling organization of the plant acentriolar microtubule array.

在植物中，细胞的功能与细胞的形状紧密相连，细胞壁决定了细胞的形状并维持了植物的物理结构。创造细胞形状需要小心地扩大细胞壁，这一过程包括纤维素纤维在细胞壁上的有图案的沉积和细胞壁酶的受控激活。细胞内聚合物，称为微管，是植物生长过程中纤维素沉积的关键模式发生器。该项目研究了驱动这些微管组织形成特定阵列模式的分子和细胞生物学机制，并试图确定植物激素（如生长素和油菜素类固醇）如何协调微管模式与细胞扩增以影响形态发生程序。通过了解微管形成模式的机制，研究人员可能有一天能够设计植物形态发生并创造智能纤维素材料。该项目将通过培训综合新生学习体验荣誉项目的本科生研究人员产生更广泛的影响，该项目与印第安纳大学有50名女性入学的住宿STEM项目有关。未被充分代表的学生将通过SACNAS和ABRCMS项目招募，以帮助扩大STEM领域的参与。由于微管引导纤维素纤维沉积到细胞壁中，这是创造植物细胞形状所必需的，因此该项目旨在了解微管模式被控制的分子机制。采用多学科方法，该项目将整合遗传筛选，计算建模，活细胞成像和质谱，以识别和表征假设控制不同微管阵列模式之间动态转换的基因，以及发现微管是如何在细胞内的特定位置产生的。时间过程成像将用于检查微管细胞骨架的信息如何以及以何种方式转移到细胞壁材料以控制膨胀的各向异性。额外的工作将集中在两个先前确定的基因上，它们改变了微管的动态特性，导致微管阵列模式的缺陷和随后的细胞形态缺陷。总之，该项目旨在确定在细胞水平上驱动植物形态发生的主要分子机制。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Cell function is tightly coupled to cell shape in plants where the cell wall defines cell shape and maintains the physical structure of the plant. Creating cell shape requires carefully expanding the cell walls, a process that involves the patterned deposition of cellulose fibers into the cell wall and the controlled activation of cell wall enzymes. Intracellular polymers, termed microtubules, serve as critical pattern generators for cellulose deposition during plant growth. This project examines the molecular and cell biological mechanisms driving the organization of these microtubules into specific array patterns and seeks to determine how plant hormones, such as auxin and brassinosteroids, coordinate microtubule patterning with cell expansion to affect a morphogenetic program. By understanding the mechanisms by which microtubules form patterns, researchers may one day be able to engineer plant morphogenesis and create smart cellulosic materials. This project will have broader impacts through training undergraduate researchers in the Integrated Freshman Learning Experience honors program, which is linked to Indiana University's residential STEM programs that have 50 women enrolled. Underrepresented students will be recruited through the SACNAS and ABRCMS programs to help broaden participation in this STEM field. Because microtubules direct the deposition of cellulose fibers into the cell wall that are required for creating plant cell shape, this project seeks to understand the molecular mechanisms by which microtubule patterning is controlled. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, this project will integrate genetic screens, computational modeling, live-cell imaging, and mass-spectrometry to identify and characterize genes hypothesized to control the dynamic transitions between the different microtubule array patterns, as well as to discover how microtubules are created in specific positions within the cell. Time-course imaging will be employed to examine how, and in what capacity, information from the microtubule cytoskeleton is transferred to cell wall materials for controlling expansion anisotropy. Additional work will focus on two previously identified genes that alter the dynamic properties of the microtubules, leading to defects in microtubule array patterning with subsequent cell morphology defects. In summary, the project seeks to define the central molecular mechanisms driving plant morphogenesis at the cellular level.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.