Abstract IBN 95-31477 This action funds a research starter grant to a former NSF Minority Postdoctoral Fellow. The research supported here continues a molecular and genetic analysis of root-hair development in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Two root hair defective mutants are being analyzed to determine if they have impaired membrane transport properties. Preliminary results suggest that the mutations may be in genes of the Tonoplast Instrinsic Protein family. If so, they could be useful tools in the study of differentiation and cell growth in this important plant model system.