Membrane Traffic and Signaling during Plant Development

Telephone: (919) 962-3216

E-mail: liljegren@unc.edu

Office: 402 Coker Hall

Mailing Address:
CB# 3280, Coker Hall
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3280

Assistant Professor (Initial Appointment: 2003)
Postdoctoral Research, The Salk Institute & UCSD
Ph.D.: University of California, San Diego (1999)
B.S., University of Washington (1993)

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Synopsis

          Specialized cell types allow plants to shed a diverse array of structures, including leaves, flowers and fruit, through the carefully orchestrated process of cell separation. The research focus of the Liljegren lab is to investigate how membrane trafficking controls cell adhesion and other aspects of plant development using Arabidopsis as a model system. We have discovered that an ARF G-protein regulator, NEVERSHED, likely regulates the movement of key cargo molecules required for floral organ shedding. Using nev mutant flowers as a sensitized genetic background, we have identified a set of receptor-like kinases-EVERSHED, SERK1, and CAST AWAY-that act as spatial and temporal inhibitors of organ separation. We are currently testing whether these kinases affect the internalization or sorting of the HAESA and HAESA-LIKE2 receptor-like kinases known to activate organ separation. We are also analyzing the broader roles of NEVERSHED and other ARF GTPase-activating proteins in regulating membrane traffic during plant growth and cell expansion.

Floral organ shedding in Arabidopsis.
NEVERSHED regulates vesicle trafficking during plant development.