Convergent evolution of cellulose synthesis complexes in mosses and seed plants
Alison Roberts, University of Rhode Island
Date: Friday October 1
Time: 12:15 pm -1:15 pm
Room: Floriculture Room 101, UCONN Floriculture Greenhouse, 1395 Storrs Road, Storrs, CT 06268
Abstract:
The microfibrillar structure of cellulose confers important functional properties on plant cell walls and products derived from them, including wood, textile fibers, paper, and biofuel feedstocks. Cellulose microfibril structure is controlled at the point of synthesis by membrane-embedded cellulose synthesis complexes. In seed plants, the assembly of six-particle ‘rosette’ cellulose synthesis complexes depends on interactions among three distinct types of Cellulose Synthase (CESA) catalytic subunits. Because cellulose synthesis complex organization affects microfibril structure, the nature of the interactions among the distinct CESA subunits within these hetero-oligomeric complexes has been a subject of interest. Our work in the moss Physcomitrium patens has shown that rosette cellulose synthesis complexes can be homo-oligomeric, that is, they can assemble from identical CESA subunits. We have also shown that hetero-oligomeric complexes, as well as division of labor between primary and secondary cell wall CESAs, evolved independently in seed plants and mosses. These evolutionary insights have implications for understanding CESA-CESA interactions and how they impact cellulose microfibril structure.
Dr. Roberts is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at University of Rhode Island. Her research focuses on how plants produce the specialized cells that make up wood and various plant fibers. More information about her research can be found here https://web.uri.edu/bio/alison-roberts/
For more information, contact: Huanzhong Wang at Huanzhong.wang@uconn.edu