Cell-specific expression of small-secreted peptide ligands in plant reproductive tissues
Prelim

Peptide ligands in Arabidopsis have been found to be in close proximity to the plant embryo during the early stages of slique generation, mutations in these ligands also appear to show various developmental effects, this leads us to believe that these peptide ligands may have a role in cell signalling required for the proper growth of the arabidopsis plant.

In order to investigate the properties, abundance and spatial arrangement of these peptides, various experiments are being carried out:

- Western Blotting
Western blotting is being used to try and detect the specific proteins...

- Cell endosperm imaging using confocal microscopy
By extracting seeds from the arabidopsis sliques and using confocal microscopy with fluorescent markers and an inhibitor of protein degradation, presence of the peptide ligands can be visualized

- Checking expression of the peptides in varying stages of plant development
Samples of the flowers from arabidopsis at 5 different stages of development were collected, these will be homogenized using liquid nitrogen and pestle and mortar. The samples will then be analyzed using blotting techniques to check for levels of protein present at each stage of development. We expect to see a peak around 1-3 days after pollination, with low expression at 0 DAP and >3 DAP

- Transgenic Plants
The peptides have long cysteine rich segments, synthetic genes will be developed with modified cysteine segments incorporating other amino acids such as lysine, threeonine and others. These transgenic plants will be grown and analyzed for developmental differences.