A central question in developmental biology is how groups of cells organize their activities to generate complex tissues and organs. Research has shown that small mobile proteins play key roles in conveying signals between neighboring cells, so that the cells can coordinate to generate patterns that make one end of an organ different from the other, and to produce the various functional tissues within the organ. Although these signaling proteins and their downstream pathways are well understood in animals, very little is known about the corresponding pathways in plants despite their clear importance for continuously producing new organs throughout the plant life cycle. The main research objective is to analyze the signaling pathways through which cell and tissue patterning events are organized during leaf formation in plants. This project will utilize genetic, molecular and biochemical methods to investigate the roles of the CLE5 and CLE6 signaling proteins in leaf patterning in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The expected results are (1) the identification of genes that control CLE5/6 activity during early leaf development, (2) a thorough understanding of how CLE5/6 control leaf polarity and boundary formation, and (3) the discovery of key downstream genes in the pathway. Another important component is integrating research with education at the undergraduate and K-12 levels. UC Berkeley undergraduates from under-represented minority groups will assist with the project to obtain valuable research experience. In addition, a one week plant learning module will be organized for freshmen at the minority serving MetWest High School in Oakland, CA that will educate them about fundamental topics in biological science while providing hands-on exposure to plant biology through the use of simple research protocols. This study will provide new insights into the ways in which mobile signaling proteins direct the complex process of leaf formation, which can ultimately be used to improve agricultural and biofuels crop yield by maximizing leaf biomass.
