International Research Fellowship Program: Mechanisms of Sclerenchyma Cell Secondary Wall Development in Brachypodium

[00:2683 .哈林顿]国际研究奖学金计划使美国科学家和工程师能够到国外进行9至24个月的研究。该计划的奖励为联合研究提供了机会，并利用独特或互补的设施、专业知识和国外的实验条件。该奖项将支持Michael Harrington博士与Herman Hofte博士在法国Cellulaire国家农业生物研究所开展为期24个月的研究。在世界范围内，对由非食用植物生物质制成的可再生能源的需求正在增加。植物生物质（或“木质纤维素”）是目前生物质原料（即玉米和甘蔗）的有吸引力的替代品，并且存在于植物细胞壁中。大多数植物的细胞壁是由富含能量的多糖聚合物组成的，这些聚合物可以被分解（糖化）以生产许多生物基产品（例如，生物塑料、纺织纤维）和生物乙醇。有趣的是，我们对细胞壁合成的机制知之甚少。本研究的目的是利用生物质原料模型Brachypodium distachyon来了解厚壁组织细胞次级细胞壁发育的细胞和分子机制。厚壁组织细胞由厚的次级壁组成，提供了用于生物燃料生产和生物基材料的大部分生物质。该项目涉及使用各种分子工具对厚壁组织细胞形成进行表征，以生成该过程的发育3D重建。此外，厚壁组织细胞分化和成熟的分子调节因子（即转录因子或/和加工酶）正在使用各种物理和化学工具进行鉴定，从激光捕获显微解剖，转录组学到用于基因表达和功能研究的细胞壁成分分析测定。最终，这项工作提高了我们对次级细胞壁合成的认识，同时确定了这一过程的调节因子，以改善生物质糖化。相反，这项工作通过创造一种专门的生物质作物来解决能源、纤维和化学品可持续来源的问题。

1002683HarringtonThe International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct nine to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad.This award will support a twenty-four-month research fellowship by Dr. Michael Harrington to work with Dr. Herman Hofte at Institute National de la Recherche Agronomique Biologie Cellulaire in France.Worldwide the demand for renewable energy made from non-food plant biomass is increasing. Plant biomass (or ?lignocellulose?) serves is an attractive alternative to the current biomass feedstocks, i.e., corn and sugar cane, and is found in plant cell walls. Cell walls of most plants are composed of energy-rich polysaccharide polymers that can be broken down (?saccharification?) to produce many bio-based products (e.g., bioplastics, fibers for textile) and bioethanol. Interestingly, little is known about the mechanisms underlying cell wall synthesis. The goal of this research is to understand both the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying secondary cell wall development of sclerenchyma cells using Brachypodium distachyon, a model for biomass feedstocks. Sclerenchyma cells are composed of thick secondary walls, providing much of the biomass used for biofuel production and bio-based materials. This project involves the characterization of sclerenchyma cell formation using a variety of molecular tools to generate a developmental 3D reconstruction of this process. Moreover, the molecular regulators (i.e., transcription factors or/and processing enzymes) of sclerenchyma cell differentiation and maturation are being identified using a variety of physical and chemical tools, from laser capture microdissection, transcriptomics, to cell wall composition analysis assays for gene expression and function studies. Ultimately, this work is improving our knowledge of secondary cell wall synthesis while identifying the regulators of this process to improve biomass saccharification. Conversely, this work addresses concerns for sustainable sources of energy, fibers, and chemicals by creating a dedicated biomass crop.