The Arabidopsis Wave Complex: Mechanisms of Localized Actin Polymerization and Growth

Technical Report · Tue Oct 23 00:00:00 EDT 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1053522· OSTI ID:1053522

Szymanski, Daniel ^[1]

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1. Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)

Plant cells are complex energy storage systems that convert solar radiation to reduced carbon. The chemical form of the storage molecule varies depending on the species and cell type, but sucrose, fructans, starch, or lipids are common examples. The compartmentation of metabolic activities within specific organelles and the intracellular transport and fusion of specialized compartments are key components to energy storage. In the context of cellular engineering, is critical to gain a deep understanding of how metabolic activities are integrated with the organelles and inter-organelle transport. In plant cells, actin filaments are highly dynamic structural elements that define the overall architecture of the cytoplasm and organelle transport activities in the cell. Stable actin bundles are critical architectural elements that position organelles and serves as tracks for motor-dependent organelle trafficking. Subsets of dynamic actin do work by generating membrane tension or by driving organelle fusion, and organelle motility. However, in plants we know very little about when and how particular actin filament arrays are generated and their cellular function. The lack of knowledge impedes efforts to use protein assemblies to dictate the trafficking and growth behaviors of cells. The objective of this project was to discover the protein complexes and control mechanisms that determine the location of actin filament roadways in plant cells. Our work provided the first molecular description of protein complexes that are converted from inactive complexes to active actin filament nucleators in the cell. These discoveries provided a conceptual framework to control to roadways in plant cells that determine the location and delivery of plant metabolites and storage molecules that are relevant to the bioenergy economy.

• Research Organization: Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
• DOE Contract Number: FG02-02ER15357
• OSTI ID: 1053522
• Report Number(s): ER--15357
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES