Mechanisms of Transport Through Plasmodesmata

生物体是由称为细胞的较小单位组成的，这些细胞需要相互交流以协调它们的生长和发育。植物已经进化出一种通过制造微小通道来连接它们的细胞的方式来进行交流。许多不同类型的分子通过这些通道为生长组织提供营养，并指导植物如何生长。该项目旨在通过研究一种新发现的控制这一过程的因素，了解信号通过通道的通道是如何控制的。它还将筛选影响通道指导植物生长所必需的特殊类型细胞（称为干细胞）生长方式的新因素。这些研究有可能显著提高农业生产力，并限制植物疾病的传播，这些疾病有时会通过植物传播。除了上文详述的科学和技术进步外，该项目还将培训各级青年科学家，并开发资源，使高中生参与尖端生物学研究。PI指导CSHL的未来合作伙伴计划，该计划使当地高中学生沉浸在冷泉港实验室的积极研究中。 他还将与纽约布鲁克林的一所高中建立教育交流。这项活动将向学生展示分子生物学的兴奋和应用，否则很少接触科学研究。胞间连丝是连接植物细胞的微观通道，以整合生长，发育和营养供应，为生物体提供广泛的连接。植物发育依赖于在称为分生组织的专门小生境中的多能干细胞，并且需要同源域转录因子通过胞间连丝的移动或“运输”来维持干细胞。这项研究将开发和调整蛋白质-RNA相互作用，RNA定位和蛋白质组学分析的最新方法，以研究一种新鉴定的RNA结合蛋白，该蛋白是干细胞调控蛋白运输所需的。它还将测试的假设，即新发现的蛋白质相互作用的蛋白质-mRNA复合物，以促进通过胞间连丝的转录因子。 在一种独立的方法中，该研究还将使用蛋白质组学筛选来识别控制PD贩运的新因素。 蛋白质和RNA信号在植物中的运动对于它们的发育以及植物如何对环境做出反应至关重要。因此，该项目的成果可以使植物的操作，以提高农业生产力。该项目还将整合对初级科学家的培训，包括少数民族高中生，在分子遗传学研究中。这个奖项是共同的-该奖项由综合有机系统部的生理机制和生物力学计划以及分子和细胞生物科学部的细胞动力学和功能组资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过评估予以支持使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

Living organisms are made up of smaller units called cells, and these cells need to communicate with each other to coordinate how they grow and develop. Plants have evolved a way to communicate by making tiny channels to connect their cells. Many different types of molecules pass through these channels to feed growing tissues and to instruct the plant how to grow. This project aims to understand how the passage of signals through the channels is controlled, by studying a newly discovered factor that controls this process. It will also screen for new factors that influence the way in which the channels instruct the growth of special types of cells called stem cells that are essential for plant growth. These studies have the potential to make significant improvements to agricultural productivity, and to limit the spread of plant diseases, which sometimes use the channels to spread through the plant. In addition to the scientific and technological advances detailed above, this project will train young scientists at various levels, as well as developing resources to involve high school students in cutting edge biology research. The PI directs the Partners For the Future Program at CSHL, which immerses local high school students in active research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. He will also develop an educational exchange with an all-female minority serving high school in Brooklyn, New York. This activity will expose the excitement and applications of molecular biology to students who otherwise have little exposure to scientific research.Plasmodesmata are microscopic channels that connect plant cells to integrate growth, development and nutrient availability, providing organism wide connectivity. Plant development relies on pluripotent stem cells in specialized niches called meristems, and the movement, or "trafficking", of homeodomain transcription factors through plasmodesmata is required to maintain the stem cells. This research will develop and adapt state of the art methods in protein-RNA interactions, RNA localization and proteomic analyses to study a newly identified RNA binding protein that is required for trafficking of stem cell regulatory proteins. It will also test the hypothesis that the newly identified protein interacts in a protein-mRNA complex to facilitate passage of transcription factors through the plasmodesmata. In an independent approach, the research will also use a proteomic screen to identify new factors that control PD trafficking. Movement of protein and RNA signals in plants is critical for their development, as well as how plants respond to the environment. The results of this project could therefore allow the manipulation of plants to improve agricultural productivity. The project will also integrate training of junior scientists, including minority high school students, in molecular genetics research.This award was co-funded by the Physiological Mechanisms and Biomechanics Program in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems and the Cellular Dynamics and Function Cluster in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences.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.