Regulation of stem biomechanics by Fasciclin-like arabinogalactan proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Date

Tuesday 26 July 2016

Time

12:30-13:30

Venue

CSIRO Black Mountain B1 Lecture Theatre

Seminar summary

Regulation of stem biomechanics by Fasciclin-like arabinogalactan proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana. Our natural and plantation forests not only provide aesthetic beauty, they contribute to vegetative biomass that represents 90% of the captured carbon and is our most renewable bio-resource. The bulk of the biomass consists of plant cell walls: primary cell walls, which are flexible to enable growth; and secondary cell walls (SCWs), which are thick, rigid and deposited on the inner side of the primary walls in specialized tissues.  Secondary cell wall development is an area of intense interest given its importance for plant growth, water conductance and human applications such as biofuels, bio-inspired materials/bio-composites, construction and paper.

Secondary cell walls are composed of roughly equal proportions of cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin and some proteins. A group of plant cell wall glycoproteins, the Fasciclin-Like Arabinogalactan proteins (FLAs) have been implicated in regulating secondary cell wall development and influencing their biomechanical properties (MacMillan et al., 2010). FLAs are a sub-class of the arabinogalactan-proteins (AGPs), glycoproteins implicated in cell wall sensing and signalling and proposed to cross-link to pectins in the wall (Tan et al., 2013). The fasciclin (FAS) domain has been shown to be involved in cell adhesion and development in mammals, insects and algae. Glycoproteins such as FLAs are therefore fascinating ‘chimeric’ molecules with a number of interesting properties; being able to potentially form protein-protein, protein-carbohydrate and carbohydrate-carbohydrate interactions in the wall.

We are interested in a subset of FLAs (FLA11, FLA12 and FLA16) that are expressed in cells undergoing secondary cell wall development. Preliminary evidence suggests these FLAs influence the amount and angle of cellulose, the most abundant cell wall polymer that forms the structural basis for all cell walls. Through mutant studies, biomechanical analysis and examination of FLA localisation we are gaining insight into the function(s) of these complex glycoproteins.

Speaker

Edgar Liu, Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls at the University of Melbourne

Edgar Liu is a PhD student in the Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls at the University of Melbourne with Dr K Johnson and Dr T Bacic.  He began his PhD study in 2013 investigating the role of plant cell wall glycoproteins in stem development in Arabidopsis.  His research employs a combination of techniques such as molecular biological techniques, microscopic applications and proteomic techniques.

 This is a public seminar.

No visitor pass is required for non-CSIRO attendees going to Lecture Theatre Building 1.