Award details

Cell specialisation in higher plants: a molecular analysis

Reference	BBS/E/J/00001325
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Keith Roberts
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Dr Maureen McCann
Institution	John Innes Centre
Department	John Innes Centre Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	21,542
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/03/2000
End date	28/02/2002
Duration	24 months

Abstract

Plants, animals and some fungi undergo processes of cell specialization such that specific groups of cells are adapted to carry out particular functions. From a single fertilized egg, the cells in a human embryo must specialize to form heart, liver or kidney cells. One of the more remarkable examples of cellular development in higher plants is the formation of water conducting cells that are capable of supporting a column of water from the roots to hundreds of feet in the air for some trees. This is a critical feature of land plants that delivers water to every living cell. The cells in a file must divide and elongate, then hoops of cell wall material are deposited at right angles to the direction of cell elongation to reinforce the cell against the compressive forces of the surrounding tissues and the suction forces of transpiration. this material is stiffened and waterproofed by deposition of phenolic compounds in a process called lignification. finally the end walls of the cell were broken down and the cell contents are destroyed. The resulting hollow water conducting tubes are called xylem vessels or tracheids, and the individual cells that form them are called tracheary elements. The formation of tracheary elements encompasses several fundamental processes of plant development, including cell division, signal transduction, cell wall synthesis and deposition, lignification, and programmed cell death, incolving probably many hundreds of genes. We have a remarkable system, the Zinnia system, to study this entire developmental pathway in a test tube.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Plant & Microbial Sciences (PMS)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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