Long and Medium-Term Research: Cellular Analysis of Cell Cycle Regulatory Phosphoproteins and Cytoskeletal Proteins in Developmental Mutants of Nicotiana and Arabidopsis This award is under the Long and Medium-Term Research at Foreign Centers of Excellence Program, which enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct three to twelve months of research abroad at research centers of proven excellence. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad. This award will support a twelve-month postdoctoral research visit by Dr. Heidi S. Feiler to work with Dr. Jan A. Traas at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique in Versailles, France. Dr. Feiler plans to characterize several Nicotiana and Arabidopsis developmental mutants, which are perturbed in cell cycle regulation and division plane alignment. Using in situ cell biology techniques, she will study the expression and subcellular localization of a set of highly conserved phosphoproteins and cytoskeletal proteins implicated in cell cycle control. It is presumed that a subset of these proteins will act as markers delineating between normal and aberrant cell cycle control and that comparisons such as these will help identify the contribution of cell cycle regulation to plant development. The analysis of cellular and subcellular localization patterns of the cdc2 and MPM-2 phosphoprotein regulators and potential cytoskeletal targets in situ will better define their interactive, in vivo functions. Experiments such as these will be required to ultimately understand cell cycle regulation as it occurs within the plant. The award recommendation provides funds to cover international travel and a stipend for twelve months.
