Understanding plant endosomal sorting mechanisms and ESCRT function in plants

这个项目将分析植物如何调节细胞表面蛋白质的降解来控制细胞功能。细胞通过一种被称为内吞作用的过程从其表面去除蛋白质，在此过程中，细胞通过形成内吞小泡将包括蛋白质在内的部分质膜内化。这些小泡与称为内小体的细胞室融合，内小体将质膜蛋白内化，并将其运输到液泡进行降解。这是一个关键的途径，因为与内吞作用相关的问题往往会对植物的发育造成致命的影响。该项目将研究不同植物谱系中内体功能的分子和结构方面，以了解内体囊泡形成的关键成分和机制。这项研究将为本科生和研究生以及博士后研究人员的培养提供支持。它还将提供与农业、生物技术、进化和生物能源作物相关的植物细胞生物学的基本见解。与威斯康星探索中心的应急技术中心合作，将为威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校的外联活动制作代表植物细胞和细胞器的虚拟现实材料。膜蛋白的内体分选调节细胞信号，但内体小泡如何形成和隔离货物还不是很清楚。该项目的主要目的是分析拟南芥胚体膜上萌发部位产生小泡的机制，并获得从基生植物到开花植物不同谱系的不同萌发活动模式的进化和功能前景。该项目将采用一种综合的方法(遗传学、成像、生物化学)来研究一组结合内体膜的植物特有蛋白质的机制作用，并分析不同植物谱系中与植物内内体囊泡进化相关的内体结构特征。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。

This project will analyze how plants regulate degradation of proteins at the cell surface to control cellular function. Cells remove proteins from their surface through a process called endocytosis during which cells internalize portions of their plasma membrane, including proteins, through the formation of endocytic vesicles. These vesicles fuse with cell compartments called endosomes that internalize the plasma membrane protein in endosomal vesicles and transport them to vacuoles for degradation. This is a critical pathway as problems associated with endocytosis can often be lethal for the development of the plant. This project will investigate molecular and structural aspects of endosomal functions in different plant lineages to understand the key components and mechanisms of endosomal vesicle formation. This research will support the training of undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral researchers. It will also provide fundamental insights into plant cell biology, relevant for agriculture, biotechnology, evolution, and bioenergy crops. In collaboration with the Emergency Technologies Hub at the Wisconsin Discovery Center, virtual reality material representing plant cells and organelles will be produced for outreach activities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Endosomal sorting of membrane proteins regulates cell signaling but how endosomal vesicles form and sequester cargo is not well understood. The main goal of this project is to analyze the mechanisms by which budding sites at the endosomal membrane generate vesicles in Arabidopsis thaliana and to gain an evolutionary and functional perspective of different patterns of budding activity across lineages, from basal to flowering plants. This project will undertake a comprehensive approach (genetics, imaging, biochemistry) to investigate the mechanistic roles of a group of plant-specific proteins that bind endosomal membranes and to analyze structural features of endosomes in different plant lineages related to the evolution of endosomal vesiculation within plants.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.