Biosynthesis and Secretion of Plant Cell Walls

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The cell wall encasing each plant cell determines its shape and the polysaccharides of the cell wall determine how cells are built into tissues, organs, and whole plants. Plant cell walls are the foundation of plant production in the environment, including all agriculture and forestry.The long-term goal of this research program is to understand how plant cells synthesize and secrete their cell wall precursors, both the polysaccharides and specialized wall components such as lipids and lignin. We use state of the art microscopy tools, such as cryo-fixation, high resolution electron microscopy, electron tomography, and live cell imaging to produce the highest quality cell structure information and combine this with functional characterization of cellular components using molecular biology and biochemistry.The short-term goals of this proposal are: 1) to elucidate how enzymes that synthesize cell wall polysaccharides are organized and retained inside the cell in membrane stacks called Golgi bodies; 2) to test the hypothesis that plant cells can transport lipids to the cell wall through unique nanospaces, small gaps of 15-30 nm, between the endoplasmic reticulum and the plasma membrane; and 3) to define how the components of lignin are exported into cell walls during xylem development. The field of cell wall biology has become extremely active as the potential for the conversion of cell walls into unique biopolymers and ethanolic biofuel has been promoted. The products of this fundamental research program will be an enhanced understanding of plant cell wall biology that has the potential to inform applied research as well as the training of young cell wall researchers in cutting-edge basic biology.