Molecular characterization and functional analysis of ethylene receptors in plants

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Ethylene is a plant hormone that virtually everyone has experimented with in their own kitchen. Putting a ripe banana in a paper bag with other non-ripe fruit will speed up the ripening process, because the gaseous hormone ethylene released from the ripe fruit can interact with specific receptors in the unripe fruit. In this research program, we are trying to understand what happens after ethylene is sensed in the plant, and how that hormone signal is transduced and converted to a change in the physiology of the plant. Besides fruit ripening, ethylene is responsible for triggering many other plant processes such as seed germination, flowering time, and responses to environmental stresses or pathogen attack. We will study several of these processes and investigate how ethylene acts in each case. Most of this research will be carried out in a model plant Arabidopsis, but we will also apply our knowledge to the understanding of ethylene fucntion in two important plants, potato and poplar. Ultimately this research will lead to a better understanding of the role of this hormone during plant development and identify potential uses of this hormone to improve agricultural and forest crops in the future.