The pathways by which plant cells recycle their constituents are critical for growth and environmental stress tolerance, yet our knowledge of these pathways is very limited. This project will address these limitations by identifying the mechanisms by which cellular components are recycled once they are damaged or no longer needed. A better understanding of these pathways will allow the development of crops and other plants with an optimized balance between growth and adaptation to stress conditions such as nutrient deficiencies and drought. A number of graduate and undergraduate students will be trained in research during this project, and each year a high school teacher will be involved in the research through an ongoing Research Experiences for Teachers program, potentially impacting large numbers of high school students. Enhancements will be made to an educational computer learning tool on cell biology and it will be introduced into Freshman Biology laboratories.
Ribosomes are essential and highly abundant components of cells, yet their degradation and recycling pathways are unclear. The goal of this project is to decipher these pathways by analyzing the transport and degradation of ribosomes and ribosomal components within plant vacuoles. A newly discovered pathway for transport of ribosomal RNA will be characterized, using a fluorescent RNA transport assay together with analysis of mutants that are defective in factors required for this pathway. The way in which ribosomes are recognized and selected for degradation, for example by accumulating damage, will be determined biochemically. Metabolome analysis by mass spectrometry will allow the effect of loss of ribosome degradation pathways on cell metabolism and homeostasis to be assessed.
