Author: mcfarlane

Talks & Presentations

Heather gives plenary talk at Plant Canada 2024

This week, Heather is attending Plant Canada 2024, the joint meeting of The Canadian Phytopathological Society The Canadian Society of Plant Biologists, The Canadian Botanical Association, The Canadian Weed Science Society, The Canadian Society of Agronomy, The Canadian Society for Horticultural Science, and The Canadian Association for Plant Biotechnology. Heather will give a plenary talk on Monday afternoon on the conference theme “Plants: Adapting to a Changing World“

Please come say hi, especially if you are interested in our open postdoctoral position https://csb.utoronto.ca/job/postdoctoral-fellow-in-plant-cell-wall-signaling/

New Papers

New paper in Developmental Cell

Many components of the plant cell wall are made inside the cell at the Golgi apparatus and must be secreted before they can be integrated into the plant cell wall. Our new paper in Developmental Cell shows that the plant cell wall polysaccharide xyloglucan requires side chains for effective secretion following its biosynthesis in the Golgi apparatus. We showed that production of side-chain-deficient xyloglucan causes intracellular aggregations of proteins and polysaccharides. These results highlight the importance of polysaccharide structure for efficient secretion to the cell wall. This work was led by recent McFarLab PhD awardee Natalie Hoffmann and demonstrates that some cell wall modifications may need to occur after polysaccharide synthesis and secretion, suggesting that cell wall-localized, polysaccharide-modifying enzymes might make exciting targets for biotechnology.

Free access to the article is temporarily provided via this link.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2024.06.006

Congrats, New Papers

Our paper featured on the cover of JXB

When plants encounter cell wall stress, they must presumably fortify the plant cell wall by synthesizing and secreting additional cell wall components. Our new paper in the Journal of Experimental Botany directly tests this hypothesis using live cell imaging and electron microscopy of plant samples across a range of cell wall stresses. We found that changes to cell wall integrity results in a rebalancing of the endomembrane system to promote secretion over endocytic trafficking. This work was led by recent McFarLab PhD awardee Natalie Hoffmann, with important contributions by MSc student Eskandar Mohammad, and is now featured on the cover of the JXB Special Issue on Exocytosis.

Free access is temporarily provided by the journal via this link.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erae195

Talks & Presentations

Heather & Eduardo at Plant Biology 2024

Heather and PhD student Eduardo are attending the ASPB meeting, Plant Biology 2024 in Honolulu, HI this week. Eduardo is supported by an ASPB travel award and will present a poster, and Heather will speak in the concurrent session on Cell Walls and Bioenergy on Monday, organized by Nick Carpita.

Please come say hi, especially if you are interested in our open postdoctoral position https://csb.utoronto.ca/job/postdoctoral-fellow-in-plant-cell-wall-signaling/

Lab Updates

Open postdoctoral position

The McFarLab is recruiting a postdoctoral researcher to study the molecular mechanisms of plant cell wall signaling. This, open, fully-funded, unionized position includes benefits such as paid vacation and extended health and dental care. The initial appointment will be for 1 year, with possible renewal to a total of 2.5 years of the funded project, supported by the Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative (OAFRI) via the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

Review of applications begins July 17

See details here https://csb.utoronto.ca/job/postdoctoral-fellow-in-plant-cell-wall-signaling/, including information on how to apply for this position.

Talks & Presentations

Science Rendezvous at UofT

Today is Science Rendezvous!  Everyone is welcome at the UofT St. George campus in downtown Toronto to see demonstrations, participate in hands-on activities, and learn about the scientific research going on at UofT. There will be activities for all ages, from primary school children to adults. The Department of Cell & Systems Biology will have a table with lots of hands-on activities, including sticker printing, microscope demos, and activities that Heather contributed about plant cell walls.

Update: the day was a huge success with loads of visitors to campus! Thanks to all of the volunteers and visitors who participated!

Lab Updates

Welcome summer students

The McFarLab welcomes five summer undergraduate students to the lab this week:

Fayeza Azad joins the group as our new summer work-study student.

Tina Guan has been awarded a highly competitive NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award to investigate the interplay between hormone signaling and cell wall signaling

Jenson McIntyre joins the group as a summer work-study student to screen for cell wall signaling mutants.

Gaeun Shin has won a prestigious University of Toronto Excellence Award to continue investigating the molecular mechanisms of cell wall signaling.

Vicky Zhu will conduct some transcript analysis as a casual worker.

Welcome to the McFarLab, everyone! If you’re wondering how these students came to join the group, check out the info on joining the McFarLab team.

New Papers

New paper in Journal of Experimental Botany

When plants encounter cell wall stress, they must presumably fortify the plant cell wall by synthesizing and secreting additional cell wall components. Our new paper in The Journal of Experimental Botany directly tests this hypothesis using live cell imaging and electron microscopy of plant samples across a range of cell wall stresses. We found that changes to cell wall integrity results in a rebalancing of the endomembrane system to promote secretion over endocytic trafficking. This work was led by recent McFarLab PhD awardee Natalie Hoffmann, with important contributions by MSc student Eskandar Mohammad, and is part of the JXB Special Issue on Exocytosis.

Free access is temporarily provided by the journal here.

https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erae195