Plants seal their intercellular pores with a sugary glue called callose, and this project will figure out exactly how that glue controls root growth and the invasion of helpful soil fungi. Callose is a beta-1,3 glucan—a type of carbohydrate—that plants deposit around microscopic channels called plasmodesmata. These channels act as communication pipelines between cells, shuttling proteins, RNAs, and even viruses. By thickening the callose barrier, plants can throttle this traffic. The researchers recently developed new molecular tools to probe callose’s physical and chemical properties, and now they will apply them to tomato and wheat. They want to know how callose accumulation alters cell wall structure, how it shapes root development, and how it governs infection by symbiotic fungi. This is fundamental science with a clear agricultural payoff. If the team can map the molecular dials that control callose deposition, breeders could one day tweak crops to grow deeper roots or form more robust partnerships with soil microbes—both critical for drought tolerance and nutrient uptake. The work combines genetic engineering, mass spectrometry, and live-cell imaging to watch callose in action. No immediate product will emerge, but the mechanistic understanding could underpin future strategies for climate-resilient wheat and tomatoes.
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Project Summary (Maximum 4000 characters including spaces and returns): The project stems from research on the plant cell wall polysaccharide callose, which accumulates around intercellular pores named plasmodesmata to restrict the transport of signalling molecules, proteins, RNAs and the spreading of viruses and other pathogens. We recently identified new molecular probes and developed technologies to test the chemical and physico-mechanical properties of plant beta glucans. This project will transform understanding of the role of callose, and other beta-1,3 glucans, in root development and in the interaction with soil microbes. The results will inform novel strategies to modify the development and environmental resilience of agricultural crops. This exciting project is cross-disciplinary applying molecular biology and genetics to modify polysaccharide accumulation and using cell and structural biology to reveal changes in cell wall structures and cell development. Structural data and physical properties will be used to reveal how cell mechanobiology determines cell-to-cell communication. Objectives Tomato and wheat are used to explore the properties of beta-1,3 glucans and their influence in the mechanisms regulating root development and interaction with symbiotic fungi. Specific objectives are to determine: 1. changes in cell wall structures triggered by the accumulation of beta-1,3 glucans. 2. beta-1,3 glucans effects in root growth and symbiotic infection. 3. beta-1,3 glucans effects in plasmodesmata and intercellular signalling. Experimental Approach: Transgenic mutant lines as well as isolated callose-enriched extracts will be obtained. Changes in cell wall structural-composition will be determined using mass spectrometry, electron-microscopy and immuno- assays. The effects on root growth and fungi colonization will be phenotypically analyzed and cell-to-cell communication tested using photoactivable reporters.
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