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.
