CAREER: Biochemical, Molecular and Physiological Analysis of Plant Ribosome Inactivating Proteins

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Throughout his career at Colorado State University (CSU), Dr. Vivanco will integrate plant biology education and research to the mutual benefit of both endeavors and will further the land-grant mission of CSU with community outreach activities. The long-term research goal of Dr. Vivanco's program is to understand the biology of plant Ribosome-Inactivating Proteins (RIP's). This knowledge can be used to develop strategies to increase broad-spectrum pathogen resistance in crops such as potato. Such strategies include enhanced breeding programs that promote RIP incorporation, the use of chemical or biological elicitors of RIP expression, and transgenic technology. Although much work has been done to dissect the enzymatic and antiviral mechanisms of RIP's, relatively little is known about the antifungal activity and biology of these proteins in plants. Root-specific RIP's from Mirabilis expansa will be used to study these reputed properties. RIP's may function in processes associated with disease resistance and tolerance, such as cell-specific hypersensitive responses and pathogen-induced cell death. Furthermore, these proteins are likely to be involved at many stages of plant growth and development, and thus their role in the underground organ will be studied. Because of the molecular and genomic technologies available for model plants such as tobacco, the isolation of RIP genes in these plants will provide the tools to determine the specific roles of RIP's in the disease resistance cascade and to identify novel physiological functions for these proteins. Finally, the enzymatic activity of certain RIP's will be targeted against viroids to provide novel control strategies. In addition to studying RIP's in plants, Dr. Vivanco will introduce innovative courses and education techniques into the classroom and will continue to integrate undergraduates into his program. Through this project he will also work to increase the number of underrepresented minorities working in plant biology and to educate public school students and teachers about the wonders of plants.