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 Our group is interested in molecular mechanisms of cellular tip growth. We use phytopathogenic fungal hypha and pollen tube as two model systems. Our research has two main aspects: in plant-fungal interaction, the molecular pathogenicity mechanism of Fusarium graminearum, the causal agent of wheat headblight and maize stalk rot, as well as the host defense responses towards fungal infection; in plant reproductive biology, we focus on pollen tube signaling mediated by pollen receptor kinases.
Lab website: http://sippe.ac.cn/tangwh
Principal Investigator: Dr. Wei-Hua Tang, Professor. Email: whtang@sippe.ac.cn
Staff: Dong Zhang, Research Associate; Xin-Jian Yu, Senior Technician; Ting-Lu Yuan, Research Intern
Graduate Students: Xiao-Wei Zhang; Yan Zhang; Cai-Ping Gui; Hai-Kuan Liu; Hu Wang; Zhi-Yong Zhang; Wei-Jie Huang; Gang Jiang
Joint Graduate Students: Xiang Tang (Yangzhou University)
The Pollen Receptor Kinase LePRK2 Mediates Growth-Promoting Signals and Positively Regulates Pollen Germination and Tube Growth
In flowering plants, the process of pollen germination and tube growth is required for successful fertilization. A pollen receptor kinase from tomato, LePRK2, has been implicated in signaling during pollen germination and tube growth as well as in mediating pollen (tube)-pistil communication. Here we show that reduced expression of LePRK2 affects four aspects of pollen germination and tube growth. First, the percentage of pollen that germinates is reduced, and the time window for competence to germinate is also shorter. Second, the pollen tube growth rate is reduced both in vitro and in the pistil. Third, tip-localized superoxide production by pollen tubes cannot be increased by exogenous calcium ions. Fourth, pollen tubes have defects in responses to style extract component (STIL), an extracellular growth-promoting signal from the pistil. Pollen tubes transiently overexpressing LePRK2-fluorescent protein fusions had slightly wider tips, whereas pollen tubes coexpressing LePRK2 and its cytoplasmic partner protein KPP (a Rop-GEF) had much wider tips. Together these results show that LePRK2 positively regulates pollen germination and tube growth and is involved in transducing responses to extracellular growth-promoting signals.
Laser Microdissection of Fusarium graminearum Infection of Wheat and Maize for Microarray Analysis
Fusarium graminearum is an important pathogen of wheat headblight and maize stalk rot diseases. With a fluorescent-tagged Fusarium graminearum transgenic strain, we studied the infection process. We then isolated Fusarium graminearum at various infection stages with laser microdissection and amplified the obtained RNA for Fusarium microarray analysis. This will help our understanding of the pathogenicity mechanisms of Fusarium graminearum infection.
Major Publications:
Zhang D, Wengier D, Shuai B, Gui CP, Muschietti J, McCormick S and Tang WH*. (2008) The pollen receptor kinase LePRK2 mediates growth-promoting signals and positively regulates pollen germination and tube growth. Plant Physiology 148: 1368-1379. 袁婷露, 张彦, 於新建, 曹秀云, 张栋*. (2008) 禾谷镰孢转化体系的优化. 植物生理学通讯. 44: 251-256.
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