Establishing a core signaling mechanism for the multi-functional FERONIA receptor kinase

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The ultimate goal of the research is to understand how plants grow, develop and thrive even when under adverse environmental conditions, thus potentially augmenting society's ability to ensure sustainable agricultural productivity and ecological balance. To accomplish the goals of the research, a team of students comprised of undergraduates, doctoral students and postdoctoral associates will be trained to carry out a range of projects focused on a cell membrane located molecule, called FERONIA, known to play key roles in diverse aspects of plant growth and survival. These projects will provide them with training in biochemistry, cell biology and molecular biology, the basics of how cells and organisms function, which will enhance their ability to emerge as teachers and researchers. Workshops offering hands-on exposure to experiments related to the project and compatible to a high school laboratory will be offered to teachers in STEM who will also be offered further mentoring to encourage incorporation of some of the materials into their classroom exercises or discussions. Topics related to the research area will be incorporated into a teaching effort that fosters skills in science writing to inform the public. Together these activities should broaden society's pipeline for future scientists as well as improve public awareness of the scientific inquiry process and the importance of its products. Moreover, FERONIA is conserved among plant species; the knowledge and research materials generated by this project should stimulate interest and facilitate similar inquiries in agriculturally important crops and in efforts to ensure vibrant growth of plants in their native habitats, including under harsh conditions, thus with the potential to impact global issues such as food production and a sustainable ecology. Research supported by this award focuses on understanding how FERONIA, from the model plant Arabidopsis, controls a broad array of processes critical for plant growth, development and coping with environmental stresses. FERONIA belongs to a class of molecules called receptor kinases, which play key roles in sensing changes outside the cell and translating these signals to stimulate cellular responses appropriate for the incoming signals. Although the importance of receptor kinases has long been established in plants by voluminous research, the diverse functional roles carried out by FERONIA is striking and how it is accomplished remains puzzling. The goal of this project is to determine how FERONIA orchestrates what must be a complex network of biochemical and cell biological processes needed to execute its functions. In particular, the project seeks to elucidate a core signal transduction pathway capable of serving as a hub with which the various FER-regulated processes might be integrated. This core pathway, referred to as FER/LLG-ROPGEF-RAC/ROP, is comprised of FERONIA receptor kinase, its functional partner, a lipid-modified protein anchored on the cell membrane called LLG1, and their immediate cellular target ROPGEF, which activates key cytoplasmic signaling molecules, called RAC/ROP GTPases. Biochemical and microscopy-based experiments will be carried out in plants grown under normal growth conditions and when challenged by an environmental growth regulatory signal, a small peptide hormone called RALF1. Experiments are designed to examine how these molecules interact, the cellular and molecular consequences of these interactions and how they together might lead to various plant growth responses regulated by FERONIA. Together, results from this research should provide insight towards the mechanistic underpinning of how FERONIA mediates its diverse functional roles whereby furthering our knowledge about strategies employed by organisms for growth and survival.