The Regulation of Ethylene Biosynthesis

知识价值：气态植物激素乙烯对植物生长发育有深远的影响。这种激素的生物合成受到许多其他激素、发育和环境信号的影响，因此在调节植物生长和发育中起着重要的串扰作用。本项目将探索模式植物拟南芥乙烯生物合成的调控机制。以往的研究表明，ACC合成酶是乙烯生产的关键酶，其稳定性的调控是控制植物乙烯产量的关键因素。该奖项支持的研究将建立在这些发现的基础上，通过表征来自拟南芥的不同ACC合成酶蛋白的半衰期，以确定每种蛋白的翻转速度，以及将不同的同种异构体配对在一起如何影响它们的翻转。其他激素如何相互作用来调节这些不同的ACS蛋白的稳定性也将被研究。这将有助于了解这些不同的信号通路如何影响乙烯的产生。最后的目的是研究先前确定的与ACC合酶相互作用的蛋白质的作用，重点是这些蛋白质如何进一步调节ACC合酶的功能。更广泛的影响：这项研究的结果将导致对乙烯生物合成调控的更深层次的理解，这可能导致在农业环境中操纵这种激素的生产的能力，从而提高各种农产品的质量和寿命。此外，蛋白质周转的调节已成为多种生物过程的核心机制，该项目将阐明这一基本过程。这些研究将通过为本科生、研究生和博士后研究人员提供实践培训，加强研究和教育的基础设施。PI与旨在扩大科学参与的项目有联系。此外，研究生还参与6-8年级的暑期科学营活动，为他们提供与植物和乙烯有关的科学实验。

Intellectual merit:The gaseous phytohormone ethylene has profound effects on plant growth and development. The biosynthesis of this hormone is influenced by many other hormonal, developmental, and environmental signals, and as such acts as an important point of crosstalk in regulating plant growth and development. This project will explore the mechanisms regulating ethylene biosynthesis in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Previous studies have shown that the regulation of the stability of ACC synthase, a key enzyme in the production of ethylene, is the critical factor controlling how much ethylene plants make. The research supported by this award will build on these findings by charactering the half-lives of different ACC synthase proteins from Arabidopsis to determine how rapidly each is turned-over and how pairing different isoforms together affects their turnover. How other hormones interact to regulate the stability of these different ACS proteins will also be studied. This will help understand how these various signaling pathways influence the production of ethylene. A final aim is to examine the role of proteins that were previously identified as interacting with ACC synthase, with a focus on how these proteins may further regulate the function of ACC synthase. Broader impacts:Results from this research will lead to a deeper understanding of the regulation of ethylene biosynthesis, which may lead to the ability to manipulate the production of this hormone in agricultural settings and hence an improvement in the quality and longevity of various agricultural products. Furthermore, the regulation of protein turnover has emerged as a central mechanism underlying a variety of biological process, and this project will shed light on this fundamental process. These studies will enhance the infrastructure of research and education by providing hands-on training for undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers. The PI has connections with programs aimed at broadening participation in science. In addition, graduate students are also involved in summer science camp activities for 6-8th graders, providing them hands on science experiments related to plants and ethylene.