PDWallMech: Harnessing PlasmoDesma Wall Mechanics for plant biotech and biomaterials

尽管植物细胞周围有坚硬的细胞壁，但它们还是相互交流。沟通对于协调发展和对当地或远处器官所感知的环境投入的反应至关重要。一些小分子可以使用细胞特异性运输机制在细胞之间自由移动。细胞壁限制了较大分子的扩散，如蛋白质和RNA，但这些分子可以通过连接相邻细胞内部的小通道移动，称为胞间连丝（Plasmodesmata）。胞间连丝的功能影响植物生长和发育的各个方面，包括疾病的传播、利用土壤资源的能力、对气候变化的适应和生存。尽管它们对所有形式的植物生命至关重要，但我们对胞间连丝知之甚少，因此这是开发新策略以改善作物生长和适应气候变化时最有前途但利用最少的目标之一。该项目将填补胞间连丝的关键知识空白，例如周围细胞壁中的不同成分如何影响不同植物，细胞和组织中的胞间连丝结构组织和功能。将分析影响胞间连丝功能的细胞壁成分的机械特性，以确定可以靶向改变细胞间通讯，植物生长和环境适应力的基因。我将开发植物类型的特定平台，允许利用胞间连丝知识来改善理想的作物性状，从而解决其未开发的潜力，以修改根分枝（改善贫瘠土壤中的水和养分吸收）、抗病毒能力（胞间连丝作为病毒传播的管道）或对有毒金属和其他非生物胁迫条件的反应，通过调节细胞间信号传导。在该计划结束时，目标是拥有新颖的，可访问的工具，以有针对性和具体的方式修改胞间连丝，从而可以设计策略来减轻气候变化对植物生长的影响，从而在广泛的植物物种中实现农业可持续性和粮食安全，包括小麦和番茄等粮食作物。作为基础工作的补充，控制胞间连丝的细胞壁的特性将被用于新产品的设计，例如新型生物材料。该项目综合了植物生物力学、生物技术和材料工程，具有广泛的产出和影响，从而提供最大的社会和经济效益。该奖学金将为生物聚合物和生物塑料行业以及作物生物技术的新应用开发提供关键知识，加强英国在工业生物技术领域的全球领先地位。知识转化还涉及全球优先事项，以确保不断增长的全球人口的粮食安全，并发现新的资源，以制造具有可持续生活绿色证书的产品。

Plant cells communicate with each other despite the rigid cell wall surrounding them. Communication is essential to coordinate development and responses to environmental inputs perceived locally or in distant organs. Some small molecules can move freely between cells using cell specific transport machineries. Cell walls limit diffusion of larger molecules, such as proteins and RNAs, however these can move via small channels that connect the insides of neighboring cells known as Plasmodesmata (singular, plasmodesma). Plasmodesmata function impacts all aspects of plant growth and development, including spreading of diseases, capacity to exploit soils resources, adaptation and survival to climatic changes. Despite their fundamental importance to all forms of plant life, we know very little about plasmodesmata and consequently this is one of the most promising but least exploited targets when developing new strategies to improve crop growth and resilience to climate change. The work that will be carried out in this project will fill key knowledge gaps on plasmodesmata, such as how different components in the surrounding cell walls affects plasmodesmata structural organization and function in different plants, cells and tissues. The mechanical properties of cell wall components affecting plasmodesmata function will be analysed to identify genes that can be targeted to modify intercellular communication, plant growth and environmental resilience. I will develop plant-type specific platforms that allow exploitation of plasmodesmata knowledge for the improvement of desirable crop traits, thus addressing their untapped potential to modify root branching (to improve access to water and nutrients uptake in depleted soils), resistance to viruses (plasmodesmata serve as a conduit for virus spreading) or the response to toxic metals and other abiotic stress conditions, through modulating intercellular signalling. At the end of the program the goal is to have novel, accessible tools to modify plasmodesmata in a targeted and specific manner that allow the design of strategies to mitigate the effects of climate change on plant growth, thus agricultural sustainability and food security, in a wide range of plant species including food crops such as wheat and tomato. Complementary to the fundamental work, the properties of cell walls controlling plasmodesmata will be exploited in the design of new products, such as novel biomaterials. The project, which integrates plant biomechanics, biotechnology and material engineering, has a wide range of outputs and impacts, thus offering maximal societal and economic benefits. The Fellowship will deliver crucial knowledge for the development of novel applications in the biopolymer and bioplastic sector and in crop biotechnology strengthening the UK's leading position worldwide in industrial biotechnology. Knowledge translation also addresses global priorities to ensure food security for a growing global population and to discover new resources to manufacture products with green credentials for sustainable living.