How do microtubules regulate plant growth and development

微管如何调控植物生长发育

• 批准号: 331017-2006
• 负责人: Bisgrove, Sherryl
• 金额: $ 2.91万
• 依托单位: Simon Fraser University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: University Faculty Award
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2008-01-01 至 2009-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=398167
• 关键词: How; do; microtubules; regulate; plant

Plants come in a myriad of sizes and shapes.  They are also rooted in one spot and cannot move in response to changes in the surrounding environment.  My research program focuses on understanding how plants control the growth of roots, stems, flowers, and leaves, both in response to environmental stimuli and to form the diversity of shapes that we see in nature.  The cells that make up the body of a plant are held together in one place; this means that the shape of a root, leaf, or flower petal is determined by controlling the directions in which cells divide and expand.  How, then, are the directions of cell division and cell expansion controlled?  Inside of cells there is a system of long, thin, tubular shaped filaments that are crucial for controlling cell division and cell expansion.  These filaments, called microtubules, are dynamic in nature; they are constantly lengthening, shortening, and rearranging into different configurations within the cell.  My lab investigates how microtubule behavior is regulated and how this regulation, in turn, effects changes in plant growth.  Microtubule behavior is controlled by a fleet of proteins that associate with microtubules and modify their activities and arrangements within cells.  We are currently studying a family of proteins that associate with microtubules and regulate root growth.  The proteins belong to the  END BINDING 1 (or EB1) family, and plants carrying mutations in EB1 genes have roots that do not form normal bends as they grow.  Instead of growing down, mutant roots skew to the left and grow in loops and coils, as if they are bending more than they should.  The ability to control bending is imperative for the root as it navigates around rocks and other impediments in the soil, and we are investigating how EB1 activity is regulated and how this regulation controls microtubules and root bending.

植物有无数的大小和形状。它们也扎根在一个地方，不能对周围环境的变化做出反应。我的研究项目主要是了解植物如何控制根，茎，花和叶的生长，无论是对环境刺激的反应，还是形成我们在自然界中看到的形状的多样性。构成植物体的细胞都是由在一个地方;这意味着根、叶或花瓣的形状是通过控制细胞分裂和扩展的方向来决定的。2那么，细胞分裂和扩展的方向是如何控制的呢？ 在细胞内部有一个长而细的管状细丝系统，它对控制细胞分裂和细胞扩张至关重要。它们在细胞内不断地伸长、缩短和重新排列成不同的构型。我的实验室研究了微管的行为是如何被调节的，以及这种调节是如何反过来的，影响植物生长的变化。微管的行为是由一系列与微管相关的蛋白质控制的，这些蛋白质改变微管在细胞内的活动和排列。我们目前正在研究一个与微管相关的蛋白质家族，并调节根的生长。这些蛋白质属于END BINDING 1（或EB 1）家族，携带EB 1基因突变的植物，其根在生长过程中不会形成正常的弯曲。突变的根不是向下生长，而是向左倾斜，成圈或成卷生长，好像它们弯曲得比应有的程度更大。控制弯曲的能力对根来说是必不可少的，因为它在岩石和土壤中的其他障碍物周围航行，我们正在研究EB 1活性是如何被调节的，以及这种调节是如何控制微管和根弯曲的。