The role of ELMOD family proteins and their genetic network in the development of specialized membrane domains on the Arabidopsis pollen surface

ELMOD家族蛋白及其遗传网络在拟南芥花粉表面特殊膜结构域发育中的作用

• 批准号: 2240972
• 负责人: Anna Dobritsa
• 金额: $ 95万
• 依托单位: Ohio State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-01-15 至 2025-12-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2240972&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: role; ELMOD; family; proteins; their

In order for cells to correctly grow, divide and move, develop proper shapes, send signals to their neighbors, transport nutrients, and protect themselves, they often must direct certain molecules to specific regions on their surface. The resulting regions are known to be chemically distinct from the rest of the cellular surface, but how cells determine where to form these regions and what shape they should adopt is not well understood. To investigate these questions, this project will study pollen grains. Pollen has characteristic regions on its surface, called pollen apertures, which differ from the rest of the pollen surface and can be easily recognized under a microscope. Within a plant species, all apertures tend to develop at the same positions and acquire the same shape, whereas across plant species, aperture patterns often vary widely. In important crops such as corn and rice, pollen becomes sterile if apertures are missing. Thus, understanding how these regions form is important for control of plant reproduction. This project will focus on investigating what proteins are involved in aperture formation and what roles these proteins play in this process. The Broader Impacts of this project will include: a) the intrinsic merit of the research itself as apertures are important for plant reproduction; b) the training of several young scientists, from postdocs to undergraduate students, in methods of classical and molecular genetics, plant biology, microscopy, and biochemistry; and c) educating the general public about the importance of pollen in plant life cycle through a range of activities. To properly perform their functions, cells often form distinct domains in their plasma membranes, recruiting to these domains specific proteins, lipids, and other molecules. Yet the molecular mechanisms creating such domains are not well understood, particularly for plant cells. Specific regions on pollen surface devoid of the pollen wall exine, known as pollen apertures, are produced from the distinct aperture domains that form in the plasma membrane of the pollen precursor cells. Easily recognizable and quantifiable, pollen apertures present a powerful model for studying how plant cells form plasma membrane domains and how they select and specify sites where these domains would develop. Several members of the ENGULFMENT AND MOTILITY DOMAIN (ELMOD) protein family were recently found to be essential players in the process of aperture domain specification in Arabidopsis pollen, controlling the number and shape of aperture domains. Yet how ELMOD proteins promote formation of aperture domains and what molecular roles these proteins play in plant cells is completely unknown. Through a variety of genetic, biochemical, and imaging approaches, this project will define the roles of plant ELMOD proteins and identify members of the genetic network that function along with the ELMOD proteins in the specification of aperture domains.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.

为了使细胞正确生长，分裂和移动，发展正确的形状，向邻居发送信号，运输营养并保护自己，他们通常必须将某些分子引导到表面上的特定区域。已知所得区域在化学上与其他细胞表面不同，但是细胞如何确定在何处形成这些区域以及它们应采用的形状尚不清楚。为了调查这些问题，该项目将研究花粉颗粒。花粉在其表面具有特征区域，称为花粉孔，与花粉表面不同，可以在显微镜下易于识别。在植物物种中，所有孔都倾向于在相同的位置发展并获得相同的形状，而在植物物种中，孔径模式通常差异很大。在重要的农作物（例如玉米和大米）中，如果缺少孔孔，花粉就会变得无菌。因此，了解这些区域的形成对于控制植物繁殖很重要。该项目将着重研究哪些蛋白质参与孔径形成，以及这些蛋白质在此过程中起何种作用。该项目的更广泛影响包括：a）研究本身的内在优点，因为孔径对于植物繁殖很重要； b）通过古典和分子遗传学，植物生物学，显微镜和生物化学的方法，从博士后到本科生的几位年轻科学家的培训； c）通过一系列活动向公众教育花粉在植物生命周期中的重要性。为了正确执行其功能，细胞通常在其质膜中形​​成不同的结构域，募集到这些域特异性蛋白，脂质和其他分子中。然而，创建此类域的分子机制尚不清楚，尤其是对于植物细胞。花粉表面上没有花粉壁外部的特定区域，称为花粉孔，是由在花粉前体细胞的质膜中形成的不同光圈结构域产生的。易于识别且可量化的花粉孔提出了一个有力的模型，用于研究植物细胞如何形成质膜结构域以及如何选择和指定这些域将在哪里发展和指定位点。最近发现，在拟南芥花粉中，吞噬和运动域（ELMOD）蛋白家族的几个成员是基本域规范过程中的重要参与者，从而控制了光圈域的数量和形状。然而，Elmod蛋白如何促进孔的形​​成以及这些蛋白在植物细胞中起何种分子作用是完全未知的。 Through a variety of genetic, biochemical, and imaging approaches, this project will define the roles of plant ELMOD proteins and identify members of the genetic network that function along with the ELMOD proteins in the specification of aperture domains.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.

项目成果

Putting the brakes on pollen wall development: A conserved negative feedback loop regulates pollen exine formation in flowering plants

阻止花粉壁发育：保守的负反馈回路调节开花植物花粉外壁的形成

• DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2023.08.010
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Molecular Plant
• 影响因子: 27.5
• 作者: Zhou, Yuan;Dobritsa, Anna A.
• 通讯作者: Dobritsa, Anna A.