NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Plant Cell Networking

这一行动为2023财年NSF植物基因组生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金。该奖学金支持在东道主实验室为该研究员制定的研究和培训计划，该研究员还提出了扩大生物学参与度的计划。伊玛尼·麦迪逊博士的这一奖学金的研究和培训计划的标题是“植物细胞网络”。该奖学金的主办机构是北卡罗来纳州立大学，赞助科学家是Rosangela Sozzani博士。植物细胞之间相互通信以协调生长，建立细胞身份，并通过各种信号分子和途径传递逆境响应。植物细胞间的通讯是通过胞间连丝或细胞壁中的门控通道来调节的。控制胞间连丝的形成、门控和运输是调节细胞间通讯的关键。总体而言，这个项目将研究胞间连丝如何在细胞壁中形成并调节细胞间分子运动。在整个植物中，由于胞间连丝的小尺寸和建立突变研究系统的困难，研究胞间连丝是具有挑战性的。该项目将通过使用创新的3D生物打印技术来创建从大豆中提取的植物单细胞系统来研究细胞壁的形成，从而解决这一挑战。该项目还将研究基因组编辑或复合治疗如何控制细胞间通信。由于胞间连丝存在于所有植物物种中，它们是在各种非生物或生物胁迫下影响细胞通讯的通用靶标。为了成功完成这些目标，这位研究员将继续她在共聚焦显微镜技术方面的培训，并获得单细胞基因组编辑以及数据和项目管理方面的专业知识。这项研究还将为社区推广和历史上被排除在外的科学家的参与提供机会。为了促进这些机会，这位研究员将在赞助机构参加导师和领导力培训以及领导研讨会，向更广泛的社区介绍这项工作的重要性。为了创建研究系统，将通过细胞壁消化分离大豆细胞，然后进行生物打印。然后，使用电子显微镜观察生物打印的细胞以检测胞间连丝。为了补充这项技术，将使用荧光探针和基因组编辑来荧光标记胞间连丝，以检测胞间连丝在细胞分裂和改革细胞壁时的生物发生和定位的动态。为了量化细胞间通讯的动态，荧光移动探针将被应用于生物打印的细胞，并将测量它们的通量速率以估计大分子和小分子的运动。最后，为了操纵细胞间的通信，将进行高通量的复合筛选，以量化通信可以在多大程度上被增强、抑制或减少，以及这些化合物是否具有永久性的影响。总体而言，这将使我们全面了解细胞通讯的基本原理，以及它可以被控制的范围有多广。展望未来，这将有助于在抑制细胞间病原体传播和改善依赖细胞通讯的植物发展和环境反应方面改善作物生长的努力。这一奖项反映了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 action funds an NSF Plant Genome Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2023. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow who also presents a plan to broaden participation in biology. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to Dr. Imani Madison is “Plant Cell Networking” The host institution for the fellowship is North Carolina State University and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Rosangela Sozzani. Plant cells communicate with each other to coordinate growth, establish cell identity, and transmit stress responses through various signaling molecules and pathways. Plant intercellular communication is mediated by plasmodesmata, or gated channels in cell walls. Harnessing control over plasmodesmata formation, gating, and trafficking is key to regulating intercellular communication. Overall, this project will investigate how plasmodesmata form in cell walls and regulate intercellular molecular movement. In whole plants, it is challenging to study plasmodesmata due to their small size and the difficulty of creating mutant study systems. This project will address this challenge through the use of innovative 3D bioprinting technology to create plant single-cell systems, derived from soybean, to study cell walls as they form. This project will also investigate how either genome editing or compound treatments can control intercellular communication. As plasmodesmata are present across all plant species, they present a universal target for influencing cell communication under various abiotic or biotic stressors. To successfully complete these goals, the Fellow will continue her training in confocal microscopy techniques and gain expertise in single-cell genome editing as well as data and project management. This research will also provide opportunities for community outreach and participation of historically excluded scientists. To facilitate these opportunities, the Fellow will take mentorship and leadership training as well as lead workshops at the sponsor institution to introduce the importance of this work to the broader community.To create the study system, soybean cells will be isolated by cell wall digestion and then bioprinted. Bioprinted cells will then be visualized using electron microscopy to detect plasmodesmata. To complement this technique, fluorescent probes and genome editing will be used to fluorescently label plasmodesmata to detect the dynamics of plasmodesmata biogenesis and localization in cells as they divide and reform cell walls. To quantify the dynamics of intercellular communication, fluorescent mobile probes will be applied to bioprinted cells and their flux rate will be measured to estimate the movement of both large and small molecules. Finally, to manipulate intercellular communication, a high throughput compound screen will be performed to quantify to what extent communication can be enhanced, inhibited, or decreased and whether these compounds have permanent effects. Overall, this will provide a comprehensive understanding of the fundamentals of cell communication and how extensively it can be controlled. Going forward, this will be useful in efforts to improve crop growth in areas such as inhibiting intercellular pathogen spread and improving aspects of plant development and environmental responses that are reliant on cell communication.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.