Vacuole remodeling in guard cells during stomata movements

气孔是叶片表面的孔，允许二氧化碳和氧气的基本交换，但它们的开放也会导致水分流失。气孔器是植物细胞中对气孔功能非常重要的细胞器。这项研究将确定如何融合的液泡调节控制孔开放。通过对相关蛋白质的合理改造来调节气孔开放，可以设计出具有可预测气孔行为的作物，增强对水分亏缺的恢复力并提高产量。这项工作将培养博士后学者，一名研究生，两名本科生在植物生物学和工程之间的接口。外联活动将在比较生物学开放日和罗利自然科学博物馆举行。少数民族高中生将进行为期3天的沉浸式研究体验。本研究的目标是通过操纵液泡融合动力学来开发调节气孔开放的预测模型。蛋白融合受两个高度保守的蛋白复合物SNARE和HOPS调节。一个关于HOPS-SNARE相互作用如何促进融合的动态数学模型框架了本项目的方法和目标，即：1）识别保卫细胞中HOPS-SNARE相互作用组的涌现行为。2)量化液泡形态和保卫细胞运动之间的关系。3)识别控制HOPS或HOPS-SNARE相互作用的上游分子信号。我们将使用遗传学，生物化学和定量成像来测试模型衍生的关于紧急结果的预测。这一努力将导致我们对细胞器融合的理解的根本性进步，它可能会识别控制的逻辑模式。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

Stomates are pores in leaf surfaces permitting the essential exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen, but their opening can also cause water loss. Vacuoles are organelles in plant cells that are important for stomata function. This research will determine how fusion of vacuoles is regulated to control pore opening. Regulation of pore opening by rational re-engineering of relevant proteins may allow design of crops with predictable stomata behaviors, enhanced resilience to water deficit and improved yield. This work will train postdoctoral scholars, one graduate student, and two undergraduates at the interface between Plant Biology and Engineering. Outreach activities will take place at a comparative biology open-house and the Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. Minority high school students will engage in a 3-day immersive research experience.The goal of this research is to develop a predictive model for regulating stomata opening by manipulating vacuole fusion dynamics. Vacuole fusion is regulated by two highly-conserved protein complexes, SNARE and HOPS. A dynamic mathematical model of how HOPS-SNARE interactions contribute to fusion frames the approaches and aims of this project, which are: 1) Identify emergent behaviors for the HOPS-SNARE interactome in guard cells. 2) Quantify the relationship between vacuole morphology and guard cell movement. 3) Identify the upstream molecular signals that control HOPS or HOPS-SNARE interactions. We will use genetics, biochemistry, and quantitative imaging to test model-derived predictions regarding emergent outcomes. This effort will result in fundamental advances in our understanding of organelle fusion, and it may identify logical modes of control.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.