Plant cells synthesize and secrete their cell walls, including specialized cell wall components such as cuticle and lignin. Despite the critical importance of cell walls, there is a gap in our understanding of cell wall biosynthesis: how are cell wall components that are made inside the cell exported to specific cell wall regions/domains?
Our lab studies the cellular machinery that supports the production of polysaccharides of the plant cell wall such as pectins and hemicelluloses. These cell wall components are produced by the Golgi apparatus, which in plants consists of hundreds of scattered Golgi stacks streaming around the cell. Using advanced microscopy tools, such as cryo-fixation, immuno-gold localization, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron tomography, we can track production and the controlled secretion of polysaccharides.
An essential cell wall domain is the cuticle, made up of protective lipid components covering the primary plant body. Using a combination of molecular biology and advanced microscopy techniques, we are exploring the secretion of cuticular lipids by ABC transporters and lipid transfer proteins.
Another important type of cell wall domains are lignified cell walls, where lignin makes the wall strong and waterproof, as in wood. In developing wood, both the polysaccharides secreted by the Golgi and the lignin precursors secreted by unknown mechanisms are investigated.
At UBC, we have cutting-edge microscopy infrastructure, allowing us to do correlative live cell and electron microscopy, cryofixation, electron tomography and low temperature autoradiography. Our combination of infrastructure and expertise gives us a unique niche in the field of plant cell wall biology.
