The study of surface patterning of plant cells is critical to understanding their function. These range from helping pollinating insects grip petals to decreasing the wettability of plant cell surfaces. In addition, understanding how this cell architecture is achieved can provide new approaches in nanotechnology and the design of novel bioinspired materials. This project combines genetics, biochemistry, and mathematical approaches to investigate how cell wall associated pectin molecules affect plant cell shape and surface pattern and contribute to the mechanical properties of plant cells. Through this project, undergraduates from underrepresented backgrounds, a graduate student and a postdoctoral associate will receive interdisciplinary training at the interface of experimental biology and mathematical modeling. In addition, the results from this project will be communicated to the public through outreach programs aimed at high school students and at the New Haven area community.
Recent work from the PI's lab has shown that mutations in the gene encoding Rhamnose Biosynthesis 1 (RHM1) affect pectin composition and show striking patterning defects in cell morphology, resulting in cells with a left-handed helical twist and a reduction in anisotropic growth. While pectins have been shown to play important roles in regulating cell expansion, this is the first described helical mutant that affects pectin biosynthesis, and so provides an exciting new inroad into elucidating the potential roles of rhamnose-containing pectins in modulating plant cell shape. Through a combination of genetic and biochemical approaches with micro-mechanical testing and mathematical modeling, the role of rhamnose in controlling cell architecture will be elucidated. The results obtained through this project will have the potential to shed new light on how pectin composition can affect cell wall patterning and growth, providing an exciting link between enzyme activity, cell wall architecture, and supracellular patterning events. The combination of experimental approaches with testable mathematical models will lay the groundwork for understanding how the pectin gel matrix can feed back on cellular and subcellular processes necessary to regulate cell growth and form.
