Clemson University TigerPrints All Dissertations Dissertations December 2017 Towards a Better Understanding of the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Plant Development and Stress Response Peipei Wu Clemson University,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations Recommended Citation Wu, Peipei, "Towards a Better Understanding of the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Plant Development and Stress Response" (2017). All Dissertations. 2548. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2548 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. TOWARDS A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING PLANT DEVELOPMENT AND STRESS RESPONSE A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Biochemistry and Molecular Biology by Peipei Wu December 2017 Accepted by: Dr. Hong Luo, Committee Chair Dr. Julia Frugoli Dr. Rajandeep Sekhon Dr. Liangjiang Wang ` ABSTRACT The spectacular array of diverse plant forms as well as the predominantly sessile life style of plants raises two questions that have been fascinating to scientists in the field of plant biology for many years: 1) how do plants develop to a specific size and shape? 2) how do plants respond to environmental stresses given its immobility? Plant organ development to a specific size and shape is controlled by cell proliferation and cell expansion. While the cell proliferation process is extensively studied, the cell expansion process remains largely unknown, and can be affected by several factors, such as cell wall remodeling and the incorporation of new wall materials.