Graduate Research Assistant UNC Chapel Hill Durham, North Carolina
Body of Abstract: Extracellular signaling pathways coordinate growth and development in multicellular organisms. In plants, CLE (CLAVATA3/ENDOSPERM SURROUNDING REGIONG-related) signaling pathways controls both the root and shoot apical meristems. Our previous work has demonstrated that CLE signaling promotes root ground tissue divisions and CYCLIND6;1 expression through the BAM (BARELY ANY MERISTEM) receptors. Here we demonstrate that PUB4 (PLANT UBOX-DOMAIN 4) is required for BAM-mediated CLE signaling in the root ground tissue. The UBOX domain of PUB4 is not required for this function, and BAM1 receptor expression and accumulation is not affected in pub4 mutants. Together this suggests that PUB4 does not act as an E3 Ubiquitin Ligase to promote CLE signaling, and it may be working as a scaffold to connect CLE receptors with downstream signaling components.