CAREER: The role of chloroplast signaling in regulating plasmodesmata

该项目将研究植物细胞之间如何共享信息和资源，确定可能的目标和策略，以开发具有优化营养分配的植物，以满足人类的需求，同时为聋哑/听力障碍的高中生和田纳西大学的本科生创造实践学习机会。在植物中，细胞壁上的孔是植物生长、发育和防御过程中营养物质分配和信号传递的管道，但人们对这些孔的工作原理和细胞其他部分的控制知之甚少。该研究将探讨细胞中的光合细胞器，叶绿体，如何控制这些孔的结构和功能。该项目将为高中生和大学生提供经验学习机会，作为提高学习水平的机制。这将涉及那些通常没有这些机会的学生，包括聋哑/听力障碍和经济困难的学生。高级课程的课程也将被重新设计，从传统的高级生物学课程转变为体验式学习的机会，利用研究作为学生参与现实生活问题的来源。细胞壁上的细胞质孔称为胞间连丝（plasmodesmata， PD），是植物细胞间通讯的重要途径。有证据表明叶绿体可以通过PD影响细胞间的运输。该研究的基本假设是，影响植物细胞间通讯的核基因的表达是由叶绿体通过向细胞核发出信号来控制的。本项目的目标是识别改变核基因表达的叶绿体信号，定义改变PD结构和功能的核基因网络和信号模块，然后确定PD结构如何响应叶绿体信号而变化。这项研究将使用反向遗传学、生物信息学、分子和生化方法以及最先进的显微镜。这项工作可能会促进对叶绿体和核基因组之间细胞内通信机制的理解，并提供叶绿体- pd关系的见解，从而增加对植物如何将叶绿体感知的局部生理和环境线索整合为具有系统影响的决策的理解。重要的是，该研究还可能确定可能对促进PD形成和修饰的细胞壁过程重要的基因。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。

This project will study how plant cells share information and resources among themselves, identifying possible targets and strategies for developing plants with optimized nutrient partitioning to meet human needs, while creating hands-on learning opportunities for Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing high school students and University of Tennessee undergraduates. In plants, pores in the cell wall are conduits for nutrient distribution and signaling during plant growth, development and defense, but little is known about how these pores work or are controlled by the rest of the cell. The research will investigate how the photosynthetic organelles in the cell, chloroplasts, control the structure and function of these pores. The project will include experience learning opportunities for high school and undergraduate students as a mechanism for improving learning. This will involve students who are typically not given these opportunities, including Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing and economically disadvantaged students. The curriculum of a senior-level course will also be re-designed to transform it from a traditional upper-level biology course into an opportunity for experiential learning, using the research as the source of real-life questions for student engagement.Cytoplasmic pores in the cell walls called plasmodesmata (PD) are important routes for cell-to-cell communication in plants. There is evidence that chloroplasts can influence trafficking between cells via PD. The underlying hypothesis of the research is that expression of nuclear genes that affect cell-to-cell communication in plants is controlled by chloroplasts via signaling to the nucleus. The goal of this project is to identify the chloroplast signals that change nuclear gene expression, define the nuclear gene networks and signaling modules that alter PD structure and function and then determine how PD structure change in response to chloroplast signaling. The research will use reverse genetics, bioinformatics, molecular and biochemical approaches, and state-of-the-art microscopy. This work will likely advance understanding of the mechanisms used for intracellular communication between the chloroplast and nuclear genomes and provide insight into the chloroplasts-PD relationship, thereby increasing understanding of how plants integrate local physiological and environmental cues perceived by the chloroplasts into decisions that have systemic implications. Importantly, the research may also identify genes that are likely important for cell wall processes that facilitate the formation and modification of PD.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.