Tessa Burch-Smith

Date & Time: November 11, 2024, at 4 pm

Location: BCH 101

Zoom: https://msu.zoom.us/j/91993518218?pwd=SzN0Umd0dElSblVSOGJEY2U0UzJJdz09
Meeting ID: 919 9351 8218
Passcode: 028299

Host: Susanne Hoffmann-Benning

About the Speaker

Institution: Danforth Center

Subject: "In sights" into plant intercellular communication

Abstract: Intercellular communication is critical for proper differentiation, growth, and defense in all multicellular organisms. For plant cells enveloped in cellulosic cell walls, direct membrane contact between adjacent cells is impossible. As a result, plants have evolved alternative mechanisms to transmit signals to neighboring cells. One of the most efficient forms of communication in plants occurs via plasmodesmata (PD). PD are small, membrane-bound pores that span the cell wall and result in cytosolic and membrane continuities between adjacent cells. Molecules ranging in size from single atoms to small RNAs and transcription factors can traffic through PD, eventually entering the vasculature for systemic communication, signaling and resource allocation between above- and belowground systems.  While PD constitute a route for communication between neighboring cells and serve as the gateway to systemic signaling, many pathogens including viruses, fungi and nematodes have evolved to manipulate PD and use them for rapid spread throughout the plant. Here, we demonstrate that advanced imaging techniques can be adapted and adopted for use in plants to study intercellular communication. We have investigated the 3D ultrastructure of PD by using dual-axis transmission electron microscopy tomography and determined the distribution of these pores at various cell-cell interfaces with focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy. We have also examined how PD respond to plant viruses. These approaches will allow us to generate comprehensive 3-D models of plant cells that can serve as a platform for further interrogation of intercellular trafficking in plants.