Project properties
Title Role of actin cytoskeleton in pollen mechanosensing in different flowers
Group Biochemistry, Laboratory of
Project type thesis
Credits 21-39
Supervisor(s) Anna Daamen
Examiner(s) Joris Sprakel
Contact info Anna.daamen@wur.nl
Begin date 2023/02/01
End date 2026/01/01
Description Pollen grow a tube to deliver the two sperm nuclei inside them at the egg cell of the plant for fertilization. In this process, pollen tubes generate large mechanical forces to pierce tissues, and react to the mechanical responses of the tissue it is penetrating. We try to understand how pollen tubes generate, perceive and respond to the forces involved in penetrative growth.

During this project, the student will study the role of actin in the response of pollen tubes to their environment. Pollen tubes are able to adjust their growth speed to the stiffness of the medium and this response differs per flower. There seems to be a mechanism that is able to sense the force and adjust their biological processes accordingly. How the pollen tube does this, is not known.
In mammalian cells the actin cytoskeleton plays an important role in mechanosensing. This is also the case for the plant pathogen Phytophthora. If this is true for pollen tubes as well, is not known, and this is what we want to investigate during this project. The student will manipulate the actin organization in the cell by using chemical compounds and study how mechanosensing in the pollen tube is affected. The experimental procedures include working with different plants, microscopy and image analysis.

Used skills Microscopy, plants, image analysis. Molecular and cell biology
Requirements Basic (cell) biology knowledge. Enthusiasm and drive are most important.