Analysis of the Ethylene Signal-Transduction Pathway in Arabidopsis

激素乙烯调节高等植物的许多过程，包括果实成熟、组织衰老、果实和叶片脱落、伤口反应和生长。这项研究是该实验室先前努力的继续，目的是研究拟南芥ETR乙烯受体家族感知乙烯并在植物细胞中触发反应的机制。为此，已经或正在开发几种重要的新工具，包括：1)缺乏5种受体蛋白的突变植物；2)在酵母细胞中产生用于生化分析的受体蛋白的系统；以及3)评估幼苗生长对乙烯反应的快速变化的高分辨率方法。利用这些基本系统，正在研究ETR受体感知乙烯的机制以及这种结合是如何通过受体蛋白传递到下游效应蛋白的。人们还致力于找出该受体的不同异构体在乙烯信号转导中所扮演的具体角色。这项研究将使我们更好地了解乙烯的工作机制，并使我们能够开发出新的、毒性较低的方法来防止作物腐败和控制成熟过程。

The hormone ethylene regulates a number of processes in higher plants including fruit ripening, tissue aging, shedding of fruits and leaves, wound responses, and growth. This research is a continuation of previous efforts by this lab to investigate the mechanisms by which the Arabidopsis ETR family of ethylene receptors sense ethylene and trigger responses in the plant cells. Toward this end several important new tools have been or are being developed, including: 1) mutant plants that are deficient in each of the 5 receptor proteins; 2) a system for producing receptor proteins in yeast cells for biochemical analysis; and 3) a high resolution method for assessing rapid changes in seedling growth in response to ethylene. Using these basic systems, the mechanisms by which ethylene is perceived by the ETR receptors and how this binding is transmitted through the receptor protein to downstream effector proteins is being investigated. Effort is also being devoted to sorting out the specific roles that the different isoforms of the receptor play in the transduction of the ethylene signal. This research will lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms by which ethylene works and allow us to develop new, less toxic ways to prevent crop spoilage and control ripening processes.