报告题目（topic title）: AGP6 and AGP11 biological mode of action in Arabidopsis pollen tube growth

报告时间: 2013年1月28日（星期一）1:30 pm

报告地点: 生命学院3－105会议室（Building 3, Room 105, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology）

研究领域（Research Field）：

    The Sexual Plant Reproduction and Development laboratory is part of the Biology Department of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto. This laboratory is also one of the members of the Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Group of BioFIG, Center for Biodiversity, Functional and Integrative Genomics. The common goal of this group is to approach an integrated view on the physiological, cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for morphogenetic traits aiming its manipulation and modification.

    Our group focuses their research activities on the understanding of the role of specific Arabinogalactan Proteins (AGPs) in various reproductive and plant development mechanisms in Arabidopsis and other important model plants. Our group benefits from the collaboration with several international laboratories (United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France), working on developing new methods for deciphering this proteins functions and protein interactions

    Arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs) are hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins that are massively glycosylated, ubiquitous in plants, and particularly abundant in cell walls, plasma membranes and extracellular secretions. The specific and developmental presence of AGPs in gametophytic cells, and in the pollen tube pathway through the pistil tissues, suggests an important role of these proteins in sexual plant reproduction. However, the mode of action of AGPs is essentially unknown, as is the meaning of their attachment to the plasma membrane through a GPI-anchor. They have been suggested to be involved in several important developmental processes in plants such as PCD (Programed Cell Death), embryogenesis, sporogenesis among many others, but many issues remain to be unraveled regarding these proteins.