Breakout Session I
Cell Wall Biosynthesis
Kenneth Keegstra
Kenneth Keegstra is a Professor of Biochemistry
and Molecular Biology at Michigan State University. He is studying the biogenesis of plastids and cell walls
-- the structures found in plant cells. Plastid biogenesis requires the post-translational import of
nuclear-encoded precursor proteins. Although the basic outline of this import process is now available,
many important details are missing. Keegstra’s laboratory is employing reverse genetic strategies to
investigate the function of selected components of the protein import apparatus and biochemical strategies to
investigate how they interact with precursor proteins. For more information about his research involving cell
walls, visit Cell Wall Biosynthesis.
David Ehrhardt David Ehrhardt is a staff member of the Department of Plant Pathology at the Carnegie
Institution.
His research interests include the cell biological basis of plant development. His lab utilizes cell biological,
genetic, and genomic approaches to explore the organization, behavior and function of plant cells. The biological
problems of primary interest are mechanisms of cell-cell interaction, cytokinesis, and the role of the cytoskeleton
in cortical organization and cell morphogenesis. Several projects feature the use of the green fluorescent protein
to develop and apply new tools to study cell biological problems. These tools allow the Ehrhardt lab to analyze
living cells, often providing surprising information about cell structure and dynamic behavior. 
