Regulatory factors controlling cell wall formation
Molecular Genetics of Plant Development
The shape of plant cells and ultimately the entire plant is defined by the cell wall surrounding each cell. Cell walls not only protect the plant from biotic and abiotic stresses but also determine the extent and direction of the cell expansion.
Plant cell walls are complex structures of different interwoven polysaccharides and proteins and their composition strongly depends on the developmental stage of the cell. While the biosynthesis of the different components of cell walls is quite well understood, the regulatory mechanism controlling their assembly still remains largely elusive.
Using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system, our lab is characterizing different factors that influence cell growth and cell wall formation. On one hand, we are analyzing regulatory proteins in the cell wall that directly affect cell wall development. Alternatively, the TOR (Target of Rapamycin) pathway, a major growth controller of eukaryotes, is an intracellular growth regulator which in plants seems to influence cell wall development. Cell growth can also be influenced by plant secondary metabolites that affect cellular processes; the exact mode of action is currently being investigated. Finally, we are assessing the contribution of individual components of the cell wall to its mechanical property.
Research topics
Cell wall development
Root hair formation
Pollen tube growth
Immunological analysis of cell walls
Interdisciplinary
Plant metabolomics
Structural identification of secondary metabolites
Arabidopsis / yeast equivalency in growth-regulatory processes
Biofuels
