EXO70 exocyst subunits in morphogenesis and adaptation

Land plants have colonized almost all surfaces of our planet. A key to their success was the evolution of morphological, physiological and regulatory features that allowed these sessile organisms to establish themselves and to function efficiently in adverse and ever changing environments. This is reflected in an unmatched developmental plasticity of plants by which growth can be adjusted to environmental conditions. Growth is tightly linked to the secretory pathway, which is not only essential to deliver building materials for membranes and cells walls during cell expansion, but also for many signalling pathways that regulate growth and development. An important cellular module regulating the targeting of secretory vesicles to specific parts of membranes is the exocyst complex. We propose to dissect the functional role of specific subunits of the exocyst complex and their alleles for growth and developmental processes and stress responses. This will have strong implications for our understanding of land plant evolution, adaptation and function, as well as for the molecular function of the exocyst complex.

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