This action funds an NSF National Plant Genome Initiative Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2020. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow who also presents a plan to broaden participation in biology. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to Sarabeth Buckley is "Requirement for N-Acetylglucosamine Transporters in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbiosis" The host institution for the fellowship is the Cambridge University, UK, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Uta Paszkowski.
This research studies how plants and mycorrhizae, a soil fungus, communicate to form a symbiosis. Mycorrhizae attach to roots of most plants and help them grow. The plant provides the mycorrhizae with carbohydrates and the mycorrhizae provides plant roots with nutrients. To start this relationship, the plants and mycorrhizae communicate by sending chemical signals to each other, which are not fully understood. This project studies a protein in plants that is likely the first protein a plant needs to start communication. If the puzzle pieces of the entire process of communication can be identified and put together, that knowledge could be used to make plants grow better by enhancing this connection or introducing pieces of it to other plants. Increasing plant growth sustainably could help agricultural systems work with nature to grow more food and use carbon from the atmosphere. This training will provide critical skills as the fellow transitions from studying environmental science to plant molecular biology. Results from this research will be shared with the science community through conferences, but also the local community through programs such as those that increase opportunities for young women in science.
The protein of interest, NOPE1, is a N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) transporter in plant roots. In mycorrhizae there is a homologous protein, NGT1. In the absence of NOPE1 a symbiosis between mycorrhizal fungus and roots cannot be established. This study answers 1. Are NOPE1 and NGT1 both essential for establishing a symbiosis and where are they expressed? 2. What is the signaling molecule transported by both? 3. How are molecules transported? It is hypothesized that: 1. Both NOPE1 and NGT1 are essential and are expressed close to where colonization occurs. 2. The molecules transported by NOPE1 and NGT1 are from both plants and fungi and are similar to N-acetylglucosamine. 3. NOPE1 and NGT1 transport these molecules both in and out of plant and fungus. Through this study the fellow will learn and use gene silencing, in situ hybridization, fluorescent tagging, and multiphoton confocal microscopy to observe gene expression. Relevant genes will be transferred to xenopus oocyte and to apply electro-physiological techniques in the presence of candidate molecules. Unknown molecules will be identified using LC-MS and NMR. RNAseq transcriptome analysis will provide insight into dynamics of downstream effects.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
