Plasma Membrane Dynamics in Relation to Plant Cell Adhesion

• Applicant: Privatdozent Dr. Tobias Meckel
• Subject Area: Plant Biochemistry and Biophysics ; Cell Biology
• Term: from 2013 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 235736556

The relevance of cellular adhesion to an extracellular matrix for all major cellular processes such as proliferation, migration, and differentiation is unquestioned in the field of animal and human cell biology. This is particularly well reflected in the growing effort, to culture cells in 3D environments or to produce three-dimensional micro-tissues using 3D printing processes (bioprinting), in order to better reflect the physicochemical properties of the native extracellular environment in cell cultures. To understand which aspects of a 3D environment are so important for the correct execution of cellular processes, particular attention must be paid to the interface between the cell and the surrounding extracellular matrix. While in animal cells, most of the molecular players are identified and dynamic interactions are now being investigated, comparatively little is known about the equivalent interface between the plasma membrane and cell wall in plants, regarding both molecular as well as functional details. In particular it is largely unknown, to which extent the cell wall is able to influence dynamic processes at the plasma membrane and thereby signal transduction processes, which are commonly realized by changes in plasma membrane protein distributions and -clustering. Using high-resolution fluorescence microscopic methods, we therefore aim to obtain detailed dynamic and structural information about the plant adhesion interface to uncover the functional and mutual relationship between the plasma membrane and cell wall. Biochemical and proteomic tools to identify key components of the plant cell`s extracellular matrix will complement our microscopic approach. Particular focus will be laid on proteins with an affinity to the peptide Arginine-Glycine-Aspartate (RGD), as this motif not only takes a central role in the adhesion of animal cells but also interferes with the process in plants. In the long term, we aim to draw a detailed molecular, structural and dynamic picture of the plasma membrane-cell wall interface in plants. This insight will clearly be most relevant to further the understanding of adhesion in the context of cell physiological processes like development or pathogen defense, but also for more distant disciplines like biofuel and paper production.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants