Formins are a family of evolutionarily conserved actin and microtubule regulators. Members of the plant Class I formin clade typically contain a secretion signal and a transmembrane domain, and can thus mediate anchorage between the cortical cytoskeleton and the plasmalemma (and the cell wall), as well as communication between endomembranes and the cytoskeletal network. Therefore, these formins could act as central players in cytoskeletal and endomembrane rearrangements, including cell differentiation events occurring in the developing root. Recent observations (see relevant publications below) suggest possible Class I formin participation in vacuole biogenesis and in development and/or function of plasmodesmata. The candidate will engage in characterizing the role of selected root-expressed Class I formins and their newly discovered interactor(s) by examining effects of loss-of-function mutations, expression of modified proteins and/or overexpression of formin genes on Arabidopsis root development. Response of roots to specific environmental challenges (corresponding to treatments that elicited changes in the expression of our genes of interest in published studies) will be examined with the aim to uncover new root-specific formin functions. The project will include a variety of experimental techniques ranging from transgenic plant construction through physiological experimentation, morphometry, histology and anatomy to advanced microscopy methods.

Baquero Forero A, Cvrčková F. SH3Ps-evolution and diversity of a family of proteins engaged in plant cytokinesis. Int J Mol Sci. 2019; 20(22):5623. doi:10.3390/ijms20225623

 

Cifrová P, Oulehlová D, Kollárová E, Martinek J, Rosero A, Žárský V, Schwarzerová K, Cvrčková F. Division of labor between two actin nucleators-the formin FH1 and the ARP2/3 complex-in Arabidopsis epidermal cell morphogenesis. Front Plant Sci. 2020;11:148. doi:10.3389/fpls.2020.00148

 

Cvrčková F, Oulehlová D. A new kymogram-based method reveals unexpected effects of marker protein expression and spatial anisotropy of cytoskeletal dynamics in plant cell cortex. Plant Methods. 2017; 13:19. doi:10.1186/s13007-017-0171-9

 

Oulehlová D, Kollárová E, Cifrová P, Pejchar P, Žárský V, Cvrčková F. Arabidopsis Class I formin FH1 relocates between membrane compartments during root cell ontogeny and associates with plasmodesmata. Plant Cell Physiol. 2019; 60(8):1855-1870. doi:10.1093/pcp/pcz102

 

Rosero A, Žárský V, Cvrčková F. AtFH1 formin mutation affects actin filament and microtubule dynamics in Arabidopsis thaliana [published correction appears in J Exp Bot. 2015 Oct 22;:]. J Exp Bot. 2013; 64(2):585-597. doi:10.1093/jxb/ers351

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