| Albersheim,
Peter |
E-mail:
palbersh@ccrc.uga.edu |
| Albersheim's
research investigates the interactions of plants and microbes
and the regulation of plant growth and development by determining
the structures and functions of biologically interesting complex
carbohydrates. Two complementary lines of inquiry are being
followed: structurally characterizing plant primary cell wall
carbohydrates and studying the regulatory functions of plant
carbohydrate signal molecules (called oligosaccharins), including
plant-microbe interaction. When plants and pathogens interact,
plants use multiple mechanisms to accumulate bioactive levels
of oligosaccharins and pathogens use corresponding mechanisms
to prevent signal molecules from accumulating. Because carbohydrates
are involved in most cell activities, understanding their structures
and functions is essential to many fields of basic research
and many industries, particularly biotechnology ventures. |
| Keywords:
complex carbohydrates, plant cell walls, oligosaccharins, biotechnology,
signal molecules, plant-microbe interaction, plant growth regulation,
structural characterization, bioactive molecules, fungal enzymes |
|
| Darvill,
Alan |
E-mail:
adarvill@ccrc.uga.edu |
| Darvill's
research focuses on structurally characterizing the five major
noncellulosic carbohydrates of plant primary cell walls homogalacturonan,
rhamnogalacturonan I and II, xyloglucan, and glucuronoarabinoxylan.
Plant primary cell walls control the rate and direction of cell
growth that determine ultimately the shapes of cells, tissues,
and organs; they form a barrier to pathogens, are the source
of oligosaccharins that elicit plant defense responses to pathogens,
and participate in controlling plant growth and development.
New analytical techniques are continually developed to isolate
and determine the complicated structures and functions of these
molecules. Interactions between wall-matrix polysaccharides
is being characterized by examining the cell-, tissue-, and
species-dependent expression of cell wall epitopes using well-characterized
monoclonal antibodies. |
| Keywords:
complex carbohydrates, plant primary cell walls, polysaccharides,
host-pathogen interactions, monoclonal antibodies, structural
characterization, oligosaccharins, cell wall matrix, xyloglucan,
homogalacturonan, rhamnogalacturonan, glucuronoarabinoxylan |
|
| Mohnen,
Debra |
E-mail:
dmohnen@ccrc.uga.edu |
| Pectin
is a family of complex polysaccharides present in all plant
primary cell walls. Pectin plays multiple roles in plant growth,
development, and defense responses; in part through contributing
to cell wall strength, wall ion exchange and sieving properties,
cell-cell adhesion, and cell-cell communication. Pectin is a
food fiber and a commercial gelling agent that has beneficial
effects on human health. Our long term goal is to decipher how
the 53 distinct enzyme activities required for pectin synthesis
interact to synthesize pectin and to modify pectin synthesis
in order to study pectin function. Towards this goal we are
purifying, cloning, and characterizing the biosynthetic enzymes;
many of which are Golgi localized and membrane bound enzymes.
Current emphasis is on the galacturonosyltransferase and the
methyltransferase that synthesize the pectic polysaccharide
homogalacturonan. |
| Keywords:
pectin, cell wall, polysaccharide, homogalacturonan, glycosyltransferase,
galacturonosyltransferase, methyltransferase, epimerase, oligosaccharide,
oligogalacturonide, Golgi, membrane, tendon, proteoglycan, glycosaminoglycan
|
|
| York,
William S. |
E-mail:
will@ccrc.uga.edu |
| The
"primary" cell wall, which surrounds growing plant cells, plays
a key role in plant development. One of its most important functions
is to control the rate and orientation of cell expansion. Polysaccharide
networks in the wall expand by gradually yielding under osmotic
stress, allowing the cell to grow in a controlled, oriented
fashion. This process determines the morphology of each cell,
which ultimately determines the shape of the entire plant. Research
in my laboratory is aimed at characterizing the molecular dynamics
and topology that lead to the assembly and controlled expansion
of the cell wall. |
| Keywords:
Plant Cell Walls, Xyloglucan, Polysaccharides, NMR, Molecular
Dynamics, Plant Growth, Self Assembly |
|
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