CAREER: Asymmetric Protein Localization and Control of Stomatal Lineage Cell Fate

在发育过程中，所有多细胞生物体都面临着一系列类似的挑战：它们必须创造一套多样化的专门细胞类型，将这些细胞组织成功能组织，并维持干细胞池，以在其一生中补充这些组织。不对称细胞分裂是指一个细胞分裂产生大小、位置和细胞成分不同的子细胞，这是解决这些发育挑战的重要机制。虽然所有生物体都必须解决产生不对称性的相同问题，但它们并不总是得出相同的答案。这个项目使用气孔(调节植物和大气之间二氧化碳和H2O交换的表皮结构)的发育作为一个模型，以了解植物中不对称是如何产生的。Basl蛋白是一种植物特有的细胞和组织不对称性调节因子，最早是通过它在气孔发育中的作用而被鉴定出来的，它将被用来识别植物细胞不对称分裂所需的一般成分。气孔不仅为发现基本的发育机制提供了一个框架，而且它们也是陆地水和碳循环的主要组成部分。随着我们目睹全球气候的变化，了解植物控制气孔密度和模式的机制对于生产能够抵御或减轻不利气候条件的粮食或燃料作物至关重要。这份职业计划将遗传学和发育生物学的研究、教学和公众宣传结合在一起。设计了一门新课程，让学生从包括初级文献和主流媒体在内的各种来源获得生物信息。然后，与科技博物馆合作，学生们将制作公开可访问的科学文章。理工学院有旨在促进成人和儿童科学素养的方案，这些方案覆盖了广泛的受众，包括一些服务最少的学区的K-8学生。

During development, all multicellular organisms face a similar set of challenges: they must create a diverse set of specialized cell types, organize these cells into functional tissues, and maintain pools of stem cells to replenish those tissues throughout their lifetimes. Asymmetric cell division, in which one cell divides to create daughter cells that differ in size, location and cellular components, is an important mechanism for solving these developmental challenges. While all organisms must solve the same problem of generating asymmetries, they do not always come up with the same answer. This project uses the development of stomata (epidermal structures that regulate CO2 and H2O exchange between the plant and atmosphere) as a model to understand how asymmetries are generated in plants. BASL protein, first identified by its role in stomatal development, is a plant-specific regulator of cell and tissue asymmetries, and will be used to identify the general components required for plant asymmetric cell divisions. Stomata not only provide a framework to discover fundamental developmental mechanisms, they function as major components of terrestrial water and carbon cycles. As we witness changes in the global climate, understanding the mechanisms by which plants control the density and pattern of stomata will be essential to produce food or fuel crops that withstand or mitigate production of detrimental climatic conditions. This CAREER proposal integrates research, teaching and public outreach about genetics and developmental biology. A new course was designed to make students consumers of biological information from a variety of sources, including primary literature and the mainstream media. Then, in partnership with The Tech Museum, students will produce publicly accessible scientific articles. The Tech has programs designed to promote scientific literacy among the adults and children and these programs reach a broad audience including K-8 students in some of the most under-served school districts.