Noemi Svolacchia
Sapienza University of Rome
Noemi Svolacchia graduated in 2019 in Genetics and Molecular Biology from the University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy. Here she continued her studies and obtained her PhD in 2023 under the co-supervision of Prof. Sabrina Sabatini and Prof. Riccardo Di Mambro (University of Pisa, Italy). Her PhD project aims to shed light on the molecular mechanisms that translate the physical input inferred by the cell wall properties into a cell activity output. Her research interests are in plant development, with a particular focus on systems biology and the molecular mechanisms linking single cell behavior to the whole organism.
Research interests: Plant development, root development, primary cell wall, plant hormones, biomechanics
Poster Number / Talk Time
Tuesday session 6
Abstract:
N. SVOLACCHIA, R. DI MAMBRO, S. SABATINI
Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Proteomics of Model Systems, University of Rome, Sapienza, via dei Sardi 70, 00185 Rome, Italy
How topological and geometrical cell properties instruct cells behavior is a fundamental question in developmental biology. Despite the intrinsic relationship between cell expansion and cell differentiation, how cell expansion induces cell differentiation remains unknown. Here, by using genetic and molecular approaches, and by taking advantage of high-throughput techniques, we demonstrated that changes of the cell wall mechanical properties are translated into variations of the cell state, thus determining if a cell will divide or differentiate. Stiffer cell wall promotes cell division while a more elastic cell wall induces cell differentiation. To understand how these different cell wall mechanical properties are translated in different cell activities, we performed a transcriptome analysis, where cell wall mechanical properties are altered in a time-controlled and zone-specific manner. These analyses established the foundation for identifying the genes that respond to these changes and subsequently influence cell activity. This represents one of the first evidences that cell wall mechanical properties can instruct cell fate.
Unveiling the role of cell wall mechanical properties in regulating cell division and differentiation
N. SVOLACCHIA, R. DI MAMBRO, S. SABATINI
Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Proteomics of Model Systems, University of Rome, Sapienza, via dei Sardi 70, 00185 Rome, Italy
How topological and geometrical cell properties instruct cells behavior is a fundamental question in developmental biology. Despite the intrinsic relationship between cell expansion and cell differentiation, how cell expansion induces cell differentiation remains unknown. Here, by using genetic and molecular approaches, and by taking advantage of high-throughput techniques, we demonstrated that changes of the cell wall mechanical properties are translated into variations of the cell state, thus determining if a cell will divide or differentiate. Stiffer cell wall promotes cell division while a more elastic cell wall induces cell differentiation. To understand how these different cell wall mechanical properties are translated in different cell activities, we performed a transcriptome analysis, where cell wall mechanical properties are altered in a time-controlled and zone-specific manner. These analyses established the foundation for identifying the genes that respond to these changes and subsequently influence cell activity. This represents one of the first evidences that cell wall mechanical properties can instruct cell fate.