Collaborative Research: RESEARCH-PGR: A Genome-Wide Approach to Characterize Evolutionarily Conserved Plant Signaling Modules that Underlie Organ Development

Plants comprise 80% of the total biomass on the planet and 50-90% of the human diet. Thus, understanding how plants grow and develop is critical for the success of the human population. As in all multicellular organisms, plant cells must communicate with each other to form boundaries between tissues and ultimately establish a body plan.

Unlike animal cells, plant cells are surrounded by walls permanently locking cells to their sisters. The cell wall not only establishes boundaries between single cells but also dictates that organ development results from cell expansion that must be coordinated with neighboring cells in the organ. This proposal will investigate how small molecules made by the plant orchestrate organ formation.

This project will also contribute to the public’s understanding of plant biology and inspire the next generation of scientists. A teaching program will be launched in rural high schools centered around active learning activities that will enhance student’s knowledge of agriculture and plant science. An annual public science fair will highlight how microscopy propels scientific discovery.

Sulfated peptides are a subset of plant peptide hormones involved in regulation of organ formation. These peptides are recognized by plasma membrane-bound receptor-like kinases that contain an extracellular leucine-rich repeat. While many of the peptides and receptors are conserved, it has been challenging to narrow down peptide-receptor pairs and their functions due to the large number of peptides and receptors encoded in seed plant genomes.

With a more reduced set of peptides and receptors, the non-seed model plant species Physcomitrium patens provides a unique opportunity to take a genome-wide approach to investigate receptor function. Furthermore the P. patens genome is readily and rapidly edited using CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, making it possible to perform genome-wide screens of peptide and receptor function.

Coupling CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing with forward genetics approaches and proximity labeling the project will map out signaling modules from novel peptides to downstream effectors. The project will provide training opportunities for students from high school through graduate school as well as post-doctoral researchers.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.