Mechanisms of Transport Through Plasmodesmata

生物体是由称为细胞的更小的单位组成的，这些细胞需要相互沟通以协调它们的生长和发育。植物已经进化出一种通过制造微小的通道来连接细胞的交流方式。许多不同类型的分子通过这些通道来喂养生长中的组织，并指导植物如何生长。该项目旨在通过研究一种新发现的控制这一过程的因素，了解信号通过通道是如何被控制的。它还将筛选影响通道指导植物生长所必需的称为干细胞的特殊类型细胞生长方式的新因素。这些研究有可能显著提高农业生产力，并限制植物病害的传播，这些病害有时会通过这些渠道在植物中传播。除了上述的科学技术进步外，该项目还将培养不同层次的青年科学家，并开发资源，让高中生参与尖端生物学研究。PI领导着CSHL的未来合作伙伴项目，该项目让当地高中生沉浸在冷泉港实验室的积极研究中。他还将与纽约布鲁克林的一所全是少数族裔女性的高中开展教育交流。这项活动将向那些很少接触科学研究的学生展示分子生物学的兴奋和应用。胞间连丝是连接植物细胞整合生长、发育和养分利用的微观通道，为生物体提供广泛的连通性。植物的发育依赖于被称为分生组织的多能干细胞，同源结构域转录因子通过胞间连丝的移动或“运输”是维持干细胞的必要条件。本研究将发展和适应蛋白质-RNA相互作用，RNA定位和蛋白质组学分析的最新方法，以研究干细胞调节蛋白运输所需的新鉴定的RNA结合蛋白。它还将验证新发现的蛋白质在蛋白质- mrna复合物中相互作用以促进转录因子通过胞间连丝的假设。在一种独立的方法中，该研究还将使用蛋白质组学筛选来确定控制PD贩运的新因素。蛋白质和RNA信号在植物体内的运动对植物的发育以及植物对环境的反应至关重要。因此，该项目的成果可以通过操纵植物来提高农业生产力。该项目还将对包括少数民族高中生在内的初级科学家进行分子遗传学研究方面的培训。该奖项由综合有机体系统部的生理机制和生物力学项目以及分子和细胞生物科学部的细胞动力学和功能组共同资助。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。

Living organisms are made up of smaller units called cells, and these cells need to communicate with each other to coordinate how they grow and develop. Plants have evolved a way to communicate by making tiny channels to connect their cells. Many different types of molecules pass through these channels to feed growing tissues and to instruct the plant how to grow. This project aims to understand how the passage of signals through the channels is controlled, by studying a newly discovered factor that controls this process. It will also screen for new factors that influence the way in which the channels instruct the growth of special types of cells called stem cells that are essential for plant growth. These studies have the potential to make significant improvements to agricultural productivity, and to limit the spread of plant diseases, which sometimes use the channels to spread through the plant. In addition to the scientific and technological advances detailed above, this project will train young scientists at various levels, as well as developing resources to involve high school students in cutting edge biology research. The PI directs the Partners For the Future Program at CSHL, which immerses local high school students in active research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. He will also develop an educational exchange with an all-female minority serving high school in Brooklyn, New York. This activity will expose the excitement and applications of molecular biology to students who otherwise have little exposure to scientific research.Plasmodesmata are microscopic channels that connect plant cells to integrate growth, development and nutrient availability, providing organism wide connectivity. Plant development relies on pluripotent stem cells in specialized niches called meristems, and the movement, or "trafficking", of homeodomain transcription factors through plasmodesmata is required to maintain the stem cells. This research will develop and adapt state of the art methods in protein-RNA interactions, RNA localization and proteomic analyses to study a newly identified RNA binding protein that is required for trafficking of stem cell regulatory proteins. It will also test the hypothesis that the newly identified protein interacts in a protein-mRNA complex to facilitate passage of transcription factors through the plasmodesmata. In an independent approach, the research will also use a proteomic screen to identify new factors that control PD trafficking. Movement of protein and RNA signals in plants is critical for their development, as well as how plants respond to the environment. The results of this project could therefore allow the manipulation of plants to improve agricultural productivity. The project will also integrate training of junior scientists, including minority high school students, in molecular genetics research.This award was co-funded by the Physiological Mechanisms and Biomechanics Program in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems and the Cellular Dynamics and Function Cluster in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences.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.