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

藤本9703835该奖项支持日本科学技术厅在日本筑波国立生物科学与人类技术研究所为藤本苏珊·Y博士提供的为期24个月的博士后奖学金。藤本博士将与植物分子生物学实验室的高级研究员Masaru Takagi博士合作开展一项研究项目，题为“剖析导致乙烯依赖转录的信号转导途径的分子机制”。这项拟议的研究的目标是确定从感知植物激素乙烯到生理反应的途径的分子成分。这种气体如何在植物中作为一种重要的生长调节剂还不是很清楚。阐明这一途径不仅将为基础科学提供基本见解，还将对植物生物技术产生重大影响。利用模式植物拟南芥，将研究启动对乙烯反应的基因转录所需的信号传递所涉及的因素。目前已从拟南芥中分离到乙烯应答基因，并鉴定了一组与这些基因相互作用的蛋白质，称为拟南芥乙烯应答结合蛋白(AERB)。在这项拟议的研究中，将分析AERB基因的表达，并将其与影响拟南芥对乙烯反应的突变体的表达进行比较。此外，还将研究蛋白质修饰的可能性，并确定与乙烯反应的AERB相互作用的因素。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组成这一重要而复杂的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. ***