Ethylene Signal Transduction: Proteomics and Molecular Mechanisms

智力上的优点。乙烯是一种气态植物激素，对植物生长发育的许多方面都有深远的影响，包括对广泛的生物和非生物胁迫的适应性反应。目前的乙烯信号转导通路的框架始于对乙烯的感知，并导致基因表达的变化。人们对乙烯信号通路的大部分了解都是基于对参比植物拟南芥的遗传解剖。虽然在识别信号通路中的关键角色方面已经取得了很大的进展，但这些蛋白质发出信号的分子机制在很大程度上仍然不清楚。一个限制是，遗传筛选不能直接检测到激素诱导的蛋白质水平、活性、定位或功能的变化，这些变化构成了信号转导的基础。此外，许多成分可能是基因解剖的顽固性成分。这个项目有两个目标。首先是利用蛋白质组学方法对乙烯信号转导有了新的认识，以确定以前未知的乙烯信号成分及其分子机制。这些方法将识别对乙烯反应迅速的蛋白质，以及在该途径中物理上相互作用的蛋白质。蛋白质修饰和蛋白质之间的相互作用是细胞内信号转导机制中必不可少的，但在乙烯信号转导中的研究相对较少。第二个目标是对目前正在进行的突变和基因进行分析，特别关注一种名为RTE1的基因，它通过ETR1乙烯受体调节信号。RTE1是一种新的膜蛋白，广泛存在于动植物和一些原生动物体内。我们将结合分子遗传学、细胞生物学和生物化学的方法来研究RTE1的细胞作用以及RTE1如何特异性地调节ETR1信号。为乙烯信号转导提供了广泛的分子遗传学工具，再加上强大的蛋白质组学方法的出现，为我们提供了一个极好的机会来促进我们对乙烯信号转导的了解。更广泛的影响。该项目为本科生、研究生和博士后研究员提供研究培训和指导，这些人通常来自代表性不足的群体。实验室成员将在当地和国际的各种科学会议上展示他们的研究成果，并将参与教学外展。博士后研究员将遵循由实验室研究培训、学生指导经验和专业发展研讨会和研讨会支持的职业发展计划。鉴于乙烯在植物生长和发育中的基本重要性，拟议的研究提供的机理见解可能会对提高农产品对人类的营养和植物生物量的优化产生影响。

Intellectual merit. Ethylene is a gaseous plant hormone that has profound effects on numerous aspects of plant growth and development, including adaptive responses to a wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses. The current framework of the ethylene signal transduction pathway starts with ethylene perception and leads to changes in gene expression. Much of what is known about the ethylene signaling pathway is based on genetic dissection in the reference plant Arabidopsis thaliana. While great progress has been made in identifying key players in the signaling pathway, the molecular mechanisms by which these proteins signal remain largely unknown. A limitation is that genetic screens cannot directly detect hormone-induced changes in protein level, activity, localization or function, which form the basis of signal transduction. In addition, a number of components may be recalcitrant to genetic dissection. This project has two objectives. The first is to attain new levels of understanding of ethylene signal transduction using proteomic methods to identify previously unknown ethylene signaling components and their molecular mechanisms. These methods will identify proteins that are rapidly modified in response to ethylene, as well as proteins that physically interact in the pathway. Protein modification and protein-protein interactions are essential to the mechanisms of intracellular signal transduction, but have been relatively unexplored in ethylene signaling. The second objective is to carry out analyses of mutants and genes that are currently in hand, with a particular focus on a gene called RTE1, which regulates signaling by the ETR1 ethylene receptor. RTE1 is a novel membrane protein conserved in plants, animals and some protists. The cellular role of RTE1 and how RTE1 specifically regulates ETR1 signaling will be investigated through a combination of molecular genetics, cell biology and biochemistry approaches. The extensive molecular genetic tools that exist for ethylene signaling, coupled with the availability of powerful proteomic methods, provide an exceptional opportunity to advance our knowledge of ethylene signal transduction. Broader impacts. This project provides research training and mentoring of undergraduates, graduate students, and a postdoctoral researcher, who are typically from underrepresented groups. Laboratory members will present their research at a variety of scientific meetings, both local and international, and will participate in teaching outreach. The postdoctoral researcher will follow a career development plan supported by research training in the laboratory, student mentoring experiences and professional development seminars and workshops. Given the fundamental importance of ethylene in plant growth and development, the mechanistic insights provided by the proposed studies could have an impact on enhancing agricultural products for human nutrition and plant biomass optimization.