One of the most important difference between plant and animal cells is that plant cells have an extracellular structure called cell wall that surrounds the protoplast. For plants, cell wall controls growth, morphogenesis, and interactions with the environment. For humans, cell wall polysaccharides and proteoglycans are important raw materials in the wood, paper, textile, fuel, and food industries. Thus, a good understanding of the biosynthesis of these macromolecules is a crucial step to improve plant development and production as a sustained source for our needs. My laboratory aims to investigate two aspects of cell wall biology using Arabidopsis and wheat as models, and using a multi-disciplinary approach that includes genomic, biochemical, and proteomic strategies. The other area of research focuses on elucidating the importance of the cross talk between the cell wall and the plasma membrane. This interaction can be crucial regulatory events for important physiological processes. Fasciclin-like arabinogalactan-proteins (FLA-like AGPs) are thought to be involved in such interaction. Using bioinformatics approach, we identified and cloned several FLA-like AGP candidates in wheat and rice genomes and functional analysis is under way.