Publications and presentations during the final funding period, including progress in defining the substrate specificity, the primary goal of the project, are listed below. Both short-term and long-term responses mediated by PsUGT1 have been characterized in transgenic or mutant pea, alfalfa, and Arabidopsis with altered expression of PsUGT1. Additional progress includes evaluation of the relationship between control of the cell cycle by PsUGT1 and other glycosyltransferase and glycosidase enzymes that are co-regulated in the legume root cap during the onset of mitosis and differentiation. Transcriptional profiling and multidimensional protein identification technology ('MudPIT') have been used to establish the broader molecular context for the mechanism by which PsUGT1 controls cell cycle in response to environmental signals. A collaborative study with the Norwegian Forest Research Institute (who provided $10,000.00 in supplies and travel funds for collaborator Dr. Toril Eldhuset to travel to Arizona and Dr. H. H. Woo to travel to Norway) made it possible to establish that the inducible root cap system for studying carbohydrate synthesis and solubilization is expressed in gymnosperm as well as angiosperm species. This discovery provides an important tool to amplify the potential applications of the research in defining conserved cell cycle machinery across a very broadmore » range of plant species and habitats. The final work, published during 2009, revealed an additional surprising parallel with mammalian immune responses: The cells whose production is controlled by PsUGT1 appear to function in a manner which is analogous to that of white blood cells, by trapping and killing in an extracellular manner. This may explain why mutation within the coding region of PsUGT1 and its homolog in humans (UGT1) is lethal to plants and animals. The work has been the subject of invited reviews. A postdoctoral fellow, eight undergraduate students, four M.S. students and three Ph.D. students have been supported.« less