August 2009: GDCB Professor Diane Bassham receives sponsored award from NASA

GDCB Professor Diane Bassham recently awarded funds from NASA in the amount of $279,001 for the research project entitled "Molecular Basis for the Role of the Vacuole in Shoot Gravitropism".

Plant perception and response to gravity is critical for appropriate growth, development and environmental responses. Shoot gravitropism involves the perception of gravity by sedimentation of starch-containing amyloplasts in gravity-sensing cells, followed by transmission of the signal to additional cell types to promote directional growth. Vesicle trafficking to the vacuole is essential for the perception of the gravity signal, but the molecular basis for this requirement is unknown. This project research objective is to determine the function of vacuolar trafficking proteins in shoot gravitropism and therefore provide a molecular explanation for the observation that shoot gravitropism is defective in vacuolar trafficking mutants.