| NSF Org: |
IOS Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | May 30, 2012 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | August 1, 2013 |
| Award Number: | 1146245 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Elsbeth Walker
IOS Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences |
| Start Date: | August 1, 2012 |
| End Date: | July 31, 2016 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $400,000.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $409,200.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2013 = $259,200.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
255 MAINE ST BRUNSWICK ME US 04011-3343 (207)725-3767 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
6500 College Station Brunswick ME US 04011-2546 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Physiol Mechs & Biomechanics |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001314DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.074 |
ABSTRACT
All organisms are made up of collections of cells, or bags of material that each carry out essential processes for life. Each cell has a program that can be influenced by the environment to enlarge, divide, and form specific shapes. The ultimate shape, size and function of a plant is therefore determined by the nature of each individual cell. Plant cells are surrounded by structurally strong but plastic material called the cell wall, that includes the carbohydrates cellulose and pectin. The cell wall has a direct influence on the size and shape that each cell reaches as it acts as a cage around each cell, and hence modification of the cell wall has a direct affect on cell shape and size. The cell surface contains a protein molecule, called a wall-associated kinase (WAK), that binds to the cell wall pectin and senses the structure and relays this to the inside of the cell to cause changes in growth and responses to the environment. Indeed, pathogens and wounding directly affect pectins, and WAKs aid in the sensing of this damage. WAKs are also required for normal plant growth. This project will concentrate on the mechanism by which WAKs bind and sense pectin changes so as to play a dual role differentiating growth from the stress response. Genetic and biochemical analysis using the model plant Arabidopsis will generate paradigms likely applicable to all types of flowering plants. Undergraduate students involved in the work will be provided with an integrative approach to science, and will be prepared for the challenges of graduate and professional schools and the private sector upon graduation.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
All complex organisms are composed of cells that must bind to and communicate with each other, and all cells are surrounded by an extra-cellular matrix that provides some of these abilities. In plants, the extra cellular matrix is termed the cell wall, and is partially composed of the carbohydrates, cellulose and pectin. Several cell surface proteins act as sensors or receptors for the state of the cell wall, monitoring its integrity and composition. The Wall Associated Kinases (WAKs) are cell surface receptors that bind to the pectin in the cell wall, and regulate cell enlargement. The work carried out during the funding period revealed part of the mechanisms by which the WAKs regulate the cell enlargement, identifying cellular components involved. In addition, the experiments revealed that WAKs are also activated by fragmented pectins generated by pathogens, mechanical stress and perhaps normal developmental patterns. This worked showed that the WAKs are monitoring the state of pectin, sensing the need for normal growth through native long pectin polymers which are then competed away by stress induced pectin fragments that induce a stress response. A number of the cellular components involved in the stress response were also identified.
This work was carried out at a small liberal arts college where the focus is on undergraduate education and research. Students receive a thorough training in experimental science through work in this project, and a significant portion go onto graduate and professional school. The PI also incorporates many aspects of plant cell biology and genetics from his lab into the core cell biology and genetics lab course at the PI’s institution, and is involved in courses for underprepared students in the sciences.
Last Modified: 08/10/2016
Modified by: Bruce D Kohorn
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