Charles Anderson
Penn State University
Dr. Charles T. Anderson is a Professor and Associate Head for Research and Faculty Success in Biology at Penn State University. His group uses advanced microscopy, cell biology, molecular genetics, and biochemistry to investigate the dynamics of plant cell walls with the goal of informing efforts to sustainably produce energy, food, and biomaterials from plants. He is interested in understanding how pectins are synthesized, modified, and degraded during plant growth and development, and the developmental consequences of these dynamics; in how interactions between different cell wall components give rise to the unique structural and biomechanical characteristics of plant cell walls, cells, tissues, and organs; and in how cell wall dynamics underpin the development, function, and unique biomechanics of stomatal guard cells. His research is supported by the US Department of Energy, the US National Science Foundation, and Open Philanthropy. Dr. Anderson also chairs the Sustainability Council in the Eberly College of Science and co-chairs the Penn State Sustainability Leadership Group, and co-directs Penn State’s Center for Biorenewables.
Title of presentation
The flexoskeleton: regulation of stomatal dynamics by guard cell walls
Authors
Charles T. Anderson
The Pennsylvania State University
Abstract
Stomatal guard cells are encased in strong, flexible cell walls that underpin their dynamic responses to signaling cues, but how these walls are assembled with these properties is incompletely understood. Here, we explored how the properties of guard cell walls change during stomatal maturation in Arabidopsis thaliana and result in stomatal complexes that open and close efficiently. We established milestones for stomatal maturation, when the stomatal pore and guard cells enlarge with distinct kinetics, and found that although guard cell walls thicken during maturation, they become more mechanically anisotropic and achieve stomatal opening with smaller changes in turgor pressure and less energy input. We also found that cellulose is required for normal stomatal maturation and that both cellulose and pectins are critical for mechanical anisotropy and efficient stomatal opening in mature guard cells. Based on their molecular architectures, we developed a multi-scale model that recapitulates the biomechanics of wild type and mutant guard cell walls. Finally, we used cell ablation and automated cell segmentation in both Arabidopsis and grass stomatal complexes to find that cells adjacent to guard cells constrain their motions in unexpected ways. Together, these data functionally connect the molecular composition and structure of guard cell walls to their biomechanical properties and the efficiency of stomatal dynamics.
My Sessions
The flexoskeleton: regulation of stomatal dynamics by guard cell walls
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Presentation