Project funded by NSF award. Click for full details.

From Proplastid to Chloroplast: Understanding Plastid Differentiation in Maize through Microarray and Proteome Analysis

In maize, C4 photosynthetic activities are partitioned between two morphologically and physiologically distinct cell types, the bundle sheath (B) and the mesophyll (M). Carbon is initially fixed as a C4 sugar in the M cells and then shuttled to the B where it is decarboxylated and fixed into C3 sugars in the Calvin cycle. This metabolic cooperation is dependent on an, as yet, undefined communication network between these twocell types. To dissect photosynthetic differentiation in maize, we have utilized oligonucleotide microarrays to examine gene expression in the B and M cells. To isolate M cells we performed an enzymatic digestion of leaf tissues and to isolate B cells a mechanical separation method was employed. We developed an ANOVA based model to allow statistical elimination of stress effects caused by the isolation of M cells. We are now using microarray analysis to define gene networks that are perturbed in the B- and M- cell-specific mutants, bsd2 and hcf136, respectively.

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Acknowledgements

This project is possible through the generous support of the National Science Foundation Plant Genome Research Program.

This project is in collaboration with the labs of David Stern (BTI), Klaas van Wijk (Cornell) and Tom Clemente (Nebraksa) and Qi Sun (Cornell).