Molecular Genetic Analysis of Ethylene Insensitive Loci in Arabidopsis

智力上的优点。 植物如何感知和传递激素信号以影响形式和功能的巨大变化是生物学中的一个基本问题，也具有重要的实际应用。对乙烯气体的反应仍然是理解植物激素信号转导机制的范例。乙烯在发育中起关键作用，例如在果实的成熟中以及在对各种物理和生物胁迫（例如病原体攻击）的响应中。为了理解这些生物学过程的分子机制，将使用参考植物拟南芥（Arabidopsis thaliana）采用遗传、分子、生物化学、基因组和细胞生物学方法。特别是，本研究的目标是描述乙烯信号传导途径中关键的正调节因子EIN 2的功能。EIN 2是一种位于内质网的膜整合蛋白，其水平受乙烯依赖性蛋白体降解的调节。通过一个知之甚少的过程，EIN 2蛋白的一部分CEND，它单独可以激活乙烯反应，在暴露于乙烯时被切割并从ER易位到细胞核。 该项目旨在研究EIN 2的乙烯依赖性加工机制，并鉴定可能介导其核转位和/或CEND功能所需的蛋白质。遗传学方法将被用来功能评估的作用，蛋白质相互作用的基本乙烯途径调节EIN 2。 识别和功能乙烯信号通路组件，沿着的表征和分析其与已知的信号通路组件的相互作用将提供新的见解的简单烃，乙烯的生物学效应的多样性。此外，了解这些蛋白质的功能将使乙烯在任何植物，特别是具有重要经济或社会价值的作物中的有益和/或有害影响的改变成为可能。 这项研究的长期目标是了解乙烯气体如何在非常详细的机制水平上促进植物发育和抗逆性的无数变化。与这种对植物激素信号传导过程的基本知识的探索相关的教育活动包括对学生的培训。计划中的外展活动的重点是让高中生接触现代植物生物学研究。这些学生将学习新的想法，概念，并通过演示，基因组和计算生物学的工具和技术。此外，还概述了一项博士后学生辅导计划，其中包括许多机会，以学习研究人员开始成功的科学生涯所需的技能。该计划利用各种培训工具，如道德培训，研讨会的准备，赠款和论文的写作和审查，以及学生辅导的机会。

Intellectual merit. How plants perceive and transduce hormone signals to effect dramatic changes in form and function is a fundamental question in biology that also has important practical applications. The response to ethylene gas continues to serve as a paradigm for understanding the mechanisms of plant hormone signal transduction. Ethylene plays critical roles in development, such as in the ripening of fruits and in responses to a variety of physical and biological stresses, such as pathogen attack. In order to understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie these biological processes, genetic, molecular, biochemical, genomic and cell biological approaches will be employed using the reference plant Arabidopsis thaliana. In particular, the goal of this research is to characterize the functions of the key positive regulator in the ethylene signaling pathway: EIN2. EIN2 is an ER-located integral membrane protein whose levels are regulated by ethylene-dependent proteosome degradation. By a poorly understood process, a portion of the EIN2 protein called CEND, which alone can activate ethylene responses, is cleaved and translocated from the ER to the nucleus upon exposure to ethylene. The project is to investigate the mechanism of ethylene-dependent processing of the EIN2, and to identify proteins that may mediate its nuclear translocation and/or are required for CEND function. Genetic approaches will be used to functionally assess the role of proteins that interact with the essential ethylene pathway regulator EIN2. Identification and functional ethylene signaling pathway components, along with characterization of and analysis of their interactions with the known signaling pathway components will provide new insights into the diversity of biological effects of the simple hydrocarbon, ethylene. Moreover, understanding of the functions of these proteins will enable the modification of the beneficial and/or detrimental effects of ethylene in any plant, in particular, crops with important economic or social value.Broader impacts. The long-term goal of this research is to understand how ethylene gas promotes myriad changes in plant development and stress resistance at a very detailed, mechanistic level. The educational activities associated with this quest for basic knowledge about plant hormone signaling processes includes the training of students. The focus of the planned outreach activities centers on exposing high school students to modern plant biological research. These students will learn new ideas, concepts, and, through demonstrations, the tools and technologies of genomic and computational biology. In addition, a plan for mentoring of postdoctoral students is outlined, which involves numerous opportunities to learn the skills required for a researcher to initiate a successful scientific career. The program utilizes a variety of training tools such as ethics training, preparation of seminars, writing and reviewing of grants and papers, as well as opportunities for student mentoring.