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All biological life must grow and multiply to survive
All biological life must grow and multiply to survive
A fundamental requirement for all life, at a cellular level, is that it must grow and divide. Interestingly, the cells of all organisms follow patterns of cell division plane positioning. This observation suggests that division plane orientation is not selected randomly, but rather, it is precisely established in order to provide a biological function.
The cell cycle endlessly repeats
The cell cycle endlessly repeats
The cell cycle can be broken into phases that are associated with growth and/or division. Each phase of the cell cycle can be identified by specific molecular markers that are present. Some of these markers, and their precise positioning, are essential for progression from one cell cycle phase to the next.
Physical abnormalities (or mutations) reveal important factors for biological processes.
Physical abnormalities (or mutations) reveal important factors for biological processes.
TANGLED1 and AIR9 are essential for proper cell shape and plant size
TANGLED1 and AIR9 are essential for proper cell shape and plant size
Microtubules are like the super highways of the cells. These protein complexes provide support for trafficking intracellular components. When they are disorganized, cell functions can become misdirected.
Plants are a great system to investigate the molecular components of proper cell cycle progression and division plane orientation because their rigid cell walls keep a 'living' record of good cell processes gone bad, as can be seen in rows A and B of the panels on the right.
In this example, researchers identified a small section of the Tangled 1 protein (amino acids 1 - 132) responsible for establishing proper cell division plane orientation in Arabidopsis. However, it is worth noting that, two genes (TANGLED 1 and AIR 9) must both be dysfunctional to see the abnormality and find the important residues.
Studying cell cycle progression and division plane orientation in plants can teach us about animals and microbes too
Studying cell cycle progression and division plane orientation in plants can teach us about animals and microbes too
The molecular mechanisms that are responsible for producing healthy plants may have similar roles in animals and microbes too. Indeed, it's the interrelatedness of organisms that contributes to the ability of pathogens to spread from one individual to another. Model systems, like Arabidopsis thaliana (pictured above), have been developed by the scientific community over decades. This research tool creates a starting point for discovery.
We use Arabidopsis to identify potential new factors that (work alone or together) to shape plant cells.
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