Project properties
Title Regulation of plant cell wall production by the cytoskeleton
Group Plant Cell Biology, Laboratory of
Project type thesis
Credits 12 or more
Supervisor(s) Kris van ‘t Klooster, Jeroen de Keijzer, André van Lammeren, Tijs Ketelaar
Examiner(s) Dr. Tijs Ketelaar / Prof. dr. Marcel Janson
Contact info tijs.ketelaar@wur.nl
Begin date 2012/04/23
End date 2016/04/01
Description Controlled cell wall deposition is essential for polarized cell and plant growth. Our research focusses on two themes: the deposition of cellulose microfibrils in existing cell walls and the formation of the cell plate that separates two daughter cells after mitosis.
Cellulose microfibrils provide cell walls with strength. Their orientation determines the direction of cell expansion. Cellulose microfibrils are produced by cellulose synthase complexes that move in the plasma membrane. The microtubule and actin cytoskeleton are involved in determining the location and direction of cellulose microfibril production. Cortical microtubules determine the direction of cellulose microfibril production by guiding cellulose synthase complexes in the plasma membrane, whereas actin filaments deliver vesicles containing cellulose synthase complexes to the plasma membrane. We are interested in the cytoskeleton based mechanisms that control organized cellulose microfibril deposition.
Cytokinesis is the formation of a new wall, the cell plate, between two newly divided plant cells. During cytokinesis, the phragmoplast, a cytoskeletal array consisting of both microtubules and actin filaments delivers cell wall materials to the developing cell plate. We are studying the regulation of cytoskeletal dynamics during phragmoplast formation and growth, and the transport mechanisms of cell wall materials to the cell plate in the phragmoplast.
Your thesis work will be part of these research projects. Depending on your interests and the current status of the projects, we will decide on the precise subject of your thesis.
Recommended courses (one or more of the following): Cell Biology and Advanced Imaging Technologies (PCB 30306); Plant Cell and Tissue Culture (PPH 30306); Regulation of Plant Development (MOB 30806).
Used skills Advanced light microscopy, molecular cloning, work with mutant lines cell culture, PCR and DNA cloning
Requirements n.a.