Molecular Genetics of Ethylene-auxin Interactions in Arabidopsis

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Intellectual MeritSurvival of plants largely depends on their ability to coordinate internal programs, such as growth and development, with the external conditions of the ever-changing environment. Understanding how plants integrate internal and external signals is critical for coping with the consequences of the global environmental changes facing our planet. It is becoming increasingly clear that interactions between different hormones (or hormones and other signaling pathways) are at the center of the signal integration process underlying the tremendous plasticity in plant characteristics required for their survival in hostile environments. While crosstalk between hormones and developmental signals occurs at several different levels, the regulation of hormone biosynthesis is emerging as one of the essential factors in signal integration biology. It is, therefore, paramount to decipher how hormones are synthesized, how their synthesis is regulated, and to determine the physiological significance of such regulation. In this project, several of the basic questions regarding biosynthesis of the essential plant hormone auxin will be addressed. The biological significance of local auxin biosynthesis in several well-defined developmental processes and in response to the stress hormone ethylene will be investigated. The relationship between different routes of auxin production (currently believed to be independent) will be examined. Finally, additional genes involved in auxin biosynthesis will be identified. The information gained from this project will be essential for the intelligent manipulation of specific plant responses to environmental factors for the benefit of agriculture and conservation biology. Broader ImpactsThe project targets students at all levels and includes outreach to students in elementary school, involvement of undergraduates in research, and postdoctoral mentoring. In addition there is a special effort for broadening participation by including students who are traditionally underrepresented in science. Specifically the PI will target the Hispanic community at North Carolina State University as well as students from North Carolina Central University, a historically black college. Minority students from both institutions will be recruited to participate in an existing Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates. To stimulate and foster interest in science in elementary school children, a bi-lingual (English and Spanish) experimental plan consisting of several "do-it-yourself" biology modules for children will be developed. To facilitate parental dialogue with students the science experiments will be described in brochures that students can share with their parents.