VPS4/SKD1调控小立碗藓胞质分裂的机制研究

胞质分裂是细胞分裂的关键步骤，直接完成子细胞的分离。动物胞质分裂晚期，子细胞的分离由ESCRT-III复合物和VPS4介导的质膜二级收缩和切割完成。植物VPS4同源蛋白SKD1同样参与胞质分裂过程，然而其作用机制并不清楚，相关前沿研究也较少。由于植物胞质分裂通过细胞板组装完成，不存在动物的质膜二级收缩和切割过程，VPS4如何调控植物胞质分裂，与动物中的作用机制有何异同仍然是一个开放性问题。本项目以早期陆生植物小立碗藓为模型，结合遗传学分析、活体细胞成像、生物化学等手段研究VPS4/SKD1在植物胞质分裂中的功能和调控机制。相关发现将为理解真核生物细胞分裂的模式和分子通路在进化过程中的演变机制提供新的认识。

Cytokinesis is the critical step during cell division which directly separates daughter cells. At the late stage of cytokinesis in animals, the separation of daughter cells is completed by secondary ingression and abscission of the plasma membrane mediated by the ESCRT-III complex and VPS4. SKD1, the plant homolog of VPS4, also participates in cytokinesis, however, the underlying mechanism is unclear, and related frontier research has been scarcely performed. Since plant cytokinesis is accomplished by the assembly of cell plates and does not involve membrane secondary ingression and abscission, how VPS4 regulates plant cytokinesis and to what extent the underlying mechanism is different from that in animals still remain an open question. In this study, we propose to investigate the function and regulatory mechanism of VPS4/SKD1 in plant cytokinesis by using the early-diverging land plant Physcomitrium (Physcomitrella) patens as a model and combining genetic analysis, live-cell imaging, and biochemical approaches. Our findings will provide valuable insights into understanding the adaptive mechanisms of cell division pattern formation and the underlying molecular pathways during the evolution of eukaryotes.