Award details

Endoreduplication and cell-size control in plants

Reference	BBS/E/J/0000A240
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Dr Keiko Sugimoto-Shirasu
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	John Innes Centre
Department	John Innes Centre Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	85,172
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/07/2005
End date	30/06/2007
Duration	24 months

Abstract

How cells determine their final size and what controls this process, are fundamental questions in biology. Cell size is defined by highly dynamic, intersecting signalling pathways, and their elucidation has been a major challenge in all organisms being studied. Arabidopsis provides an excellent model system to study cell size as it has a diverse range of cell sizes that are cell-type specific, and the genetic dissection of their control is relatively straightforward with the genomic, genetic and bioinformatics resources available. The goal of this research project is to understand how plant cells determine their cell size and how endoreduplication contributes to this process. Our discovery of the plant topo VI complex gives us a unique opportunity to investigate the molecular and cellular mechanism of plant endoreduplication and its control. We will initially focus on characterising the plant topo VI complex and the elucidation of its role in endoreduplication. To tackle other ploidy-dependent and -independent size-control mechanisms, we will identify new mutations and small molecules that interfere with these biological systems through genetic and chemical genetic screenings. Our specific research targets include: I. Functional characterisation of BIN4, a potential new subunit of the plant topo VI complex II. Identification of further components of the plant topo VI complex III. Genetic dissection of endoreduplication and cell-size control IV. Chemical genetic screening for cell-size modulators.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Genes & Developmental Biology (GDB)
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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