9724014 Verma Cell plate formation is a unique and important process in plants because - unlike in animals - plant cells do not migrate. The orientation of the original cell plate determines the direction of growth. Several mutations have been obtained which alter the orientation of the cell plate. The focus is on the function of a protein, phragmoplastin, with homology to animal dynamin, that is associated with early events in plant cell plate formation. The work includes the analysis of phragmoplastin synthesis, ER- and Golgi-transport and insertion into the developing cell plate by monitoring GFP-phragmoplastin fusion proteins. This provides a real-time, live-cell, high-resolution picture of the event. Associated experiments will dissect the domain structure of phragmoplastin, determining the dynamics of cell plate formation, and monitoring of the exocytotic capacity that accompanies cell plate formation.
