Plants have two methods for establishing a body plan: division and expansion. Therefore, understanding cell division, particularly the coordination between cell division and differentiation mediated by correct orientation of the division plane, is crucial to understanding plant development. Moreover, division plane orientation is vital for all eukaryotic cells, and plants serve as useful model organisms for studying this process. Little is known about the factors that control proper orientation of the division plane in plants, however, recent data suggests that sequential modification of the plant division site is essential for the final proper orientation of cell division. This research identifies the proteins responsible for controlling division plane orientation in both Arabidopsis thaliana and maize. The experimental approaches include live cell imaging, biochemistry, and reverse and forward genetics. The expected outcome of this research is identification of a plant division site interactome placed within the temporal context of the cell cycle and within the interacting network of other proteins. This outcome will have important positive impact because elucidating the process of plant division plane orientation will provide new tools and resources for modifying plants through control of cell division planes which may lead to next generation improvements in crop plants.
Broader Impacts This project, focusing on fundamental understanding of cell division dynamics in plants, has the potential for long-term application to crop plants and will also provide useful training and educational opportunities for students in the broader Wyoming community. The project integrates research with training and education by providing student workshops for undergraduates and community college transfer students at University of Wyoming that use developmental genetics and imaging resources described in this project as training tools. Students will initiate research on selected mutants as part of a standard laboratory course in the Molecular Biology curriculum, and then will have the opportunity to apply for competitive student funding from the NSF Wyoming EPSCoR program for summer research. Community college students will be offered two-day workshops in A. thaliana imaging and genetics to supplement already established activities designed to introduce community college students to opportunities as undergrads at University of Wyoming. The project aims to broaden participation of under-represented groups through development of a research program headed by a female principal investigator with the goal of attracting new scientists into careers in high-priority areas of national need (agriculture and plant sciences), making use of internally and externally funded programs at University of Wyoming. Specifically the investigator will host 7th and 8th grade girls at an Annual Women and Girls in Science Day. Students will be encouraged to communicate with the investigator via Facebook as they enter the high school science curriculum. In addition to enhancing scientific and technological understanding by dissemination of project results through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at national conferences, the project will benefit society by advancing knowledge of the biology of plant division site orientation. In the long-term, the outcomes of the research will be translated to and complemented by new findings in crop plants.
