Research
Interests:
My general area of research interest
is cellular and developmental biology, particularly the
role of the extracellular matrix in development and the
mechanism of cellulose biogenesis. My research organism
is the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum, a microorganism
with a life cycle that alternates between unicellular and
multicellular stages. The extracellular matrix formed during
multicellular development in D. discoideum is composed principally
of cellulose (a polysaccharide that is also the major constituent
of plant cell walls) and proteins. By understanding the
biochemistry and control of cellulose synthesis in D. discoideum
and the relationship of cellulose to the extracellular proteins,
I hope to develop an understanding of the cellular control
of extracellular matrix formation in D. discoideum and its
role in development. For a variety of reasons, D. discoideum
is particularly amenable to this type of study, permitting
me to ask questions that would be difficult to answer using
a plant cell system. I expect that my results will be of
interest not only to the large world-wide community of D.
discoideum researchers, but also to plant biologists and
evolutionary developmental biologists.
Selected
Publications:
(Last
5 years):
Kiedaisch,
B.M., R.L. Blanton, and C.H. Haigler. 2003. Characterization
of a novel cellulose synthesis inhibitor. Planta In press
(published on-line).
Levraud, J.P.., M. Adam,, M.F. Luciani, C. de Chastellier,
R.L. Blanton, and P. Golstein. 2003. Dictyostelium cell
death: early emergence and demise of highly polarized paddle
cells. Journal of Cell Biology 160: 1105-1114.
Coates, J.C., M.J. Grimson, R.S.B. Williams, W. Bergman,
R.L. Blanton, and A.J. Harwood. 2002. Loss of the ß-catenin
homologue aardvark causes ectopic stalk formation in Dictyostelium.
Mechanisms of Development 116: 117-127.
Zhang, P., A.C. McGlynn, W.F. Loomis, R.L. Blanton, and
C.M. West. 2001. Spore coat formation and timely sporulation
depend on cellulose in Dictyostelium. Differentiation 67:
72-79.
Grimson, M.J., J.C. Coates, J.P. Reynolds, M. Shipman, R.L.
Blanton, and A.J. Harwood, A J. 2000. Adherens junctions
and ?-catenin-mediated cell signalling in a non-metazoan
organism. Nature 408: 727-731.
Blanton, R.L., D. Fuller, N. Iranfar, M.J. Grimson, and
W.F. Loomis. 2000. The cellulose synthase gene of Dictyostelium.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (U.S.A.)
97: 2391-2396.
