How do Phototropin Receptor Kinases Initiate Signalling from the Plasma Membrane?

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Improving crop yield has the potential to overcome the challenges facing global agriculture. Strategies to increase plant biomass have centred on enhancing photosynthetic productivity. Phototropin receptor kinases (phots) play an important role in this regard as they function to control a wide range of physiological responses that collectively serve to optimise photosynthetic efficiency. These include chloroplast relocation movements, leaf positioning and expansion, stomatal opening and phototropism, all of which influence a plant's photosynthetic competence by improving the efficiency of light capture, reducing photodamage, and regulating gas exchange between leaves and the atmosphere. Manipulating these processes could offers considerable potential to alter plant growth through changes in photosynthetic performance. Yet, despite two decades of research, our understanding of how these autophosphorylating kinases are activated, how they are regulated and how they initiate signalling from the plasma membrane is far from complete. Obtaining a better grasp of the underlying mechanisms involved will be essential if we are to harness the full potential of altering phot function for agronomic gain. This proposal will capitalise on a substantial body of preliminary work to answer key gaps in our knowledge regarding the molecular basis underlying phot receptor activation and signalling by light. The outcomes of this work will ultimately offer new opportunities to coordinate enhancements in photosynthetic performance with an aim to increase yield and grow crops more efficiently. Knowledge gained from this work will also translate to related kinases with key roles in controlling plant immunity and the hormonal regulation of plant development.