Japan STA Program: Dissecting the Molecular Mechanisms of the Signal Transduction Pathway Leading to Ethylene Dependent Transcription

Fujimoto 9703835 该奖项为日本筑波国立生物科学与人类技术研究所的 Susan Y. Fujimoto 博士提供为期 24 个月的日本科学技术振兴机构 (STA) 博士后奖学金。 藤本博士将与植物分子生物学实验室高级研究员 Masaru Takagi 博士合作开展一项名为“剖析导致乙烯依赖性转录的信号转导途径的分子机制”的研究项目。 拟议研究的目标是确定从植物激素乙烯的感知到生理反应的途径的分子成分。 这种气体如何充当植物中重要的生长调节剂尚不清楚。 这一途径的阐明不仅将为基础科学提供基本见解，而且还将对植物生物技术产生重大影响。 使用模型植物拟南芥，将研究参与启动乙烯响应基因转录所需信号传递的因素。 乙烯响应基因已经从拟南芥中分离出来，并且一组与这些基因相互作用的称为 AERB（拟南芥乙烯响应结合蛋白）的蛋白质已被表征。 在拟议的研究中，将对 AERB 基因表达进行分析，并与受乙烯反应影响的拟南芥突变体中的表达进行比较。 此外，还将研究蛋白质修饰的可能性以及与 AERB 相互作用以响应乙烯的因素的鉴定。 通过将乙烯反应基因与已知的乙烯反应突变体结合使用，人们可以剖析并可能对构成这一重要而复杂途径的基因进行排序。 ***

Fujimoto 9703835 This award supports a 24 month Science and Technology Agency of Japan (STA) Postdoctoral Fellowship for Dr. Susan Y. Fujimoto at the National Institute of Bioscience and Human Technology, Tsukuba, Japan. Dr. Fujimoto will work with Dr. Masaru Takagi, Senior Researcher in the Plant Molecular Biology Laboratory, on a research project entitled, "Dissecting the Molecular Mechanisms of the Signal Transduction Pathway Leading to Ethylene Dependent Transcription." The goal of the proposed research is to identify molecular components of the pathway leading from the perception of the plant hormone ethylene to a physiological response. How this gas acts as an important growth regulator in plants is not yet well understood. Elucidation of this pathway would not only offer fundamental insights for basic science but would also provide a significant impact to plant biotechnology. Using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, factors that are involved in the transmission of signals necessary to initiate transcription of genes responsive to ethylene will be investigated. Ethylene responsive genes have already been isolated from Arabidopsis and a group of proteins termed AERBs (Arabidopsis Ethylene-Responsive Binding proteins) that interact with these genes have been characterized. In the proposed research, AERB gene expression will be analyzed and compared with expressions in Arabidopsis mutants affected in their response to ethylene. In addition, the possibility of protein modification and identification of factors interacting with the AERBs in response to ethylene will be examined. By using ethylene responsive genes in conjunction with known ethylene response mutants, one can dissect and possibly order the genes comprising this important and complex pathway. ***