Investigating the interface between plant metabolism and development

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My research program uses molecular genetic and biochemical tools to study enzyme activities associated with adenine and adenosine metabolism in order to identify their contributions to plant development. These enzymes are considered "housekeeping" activities as they are expressed in all cells to varying extents where they fulfill basic metabolic needs; they often contribute to multiple biochemical pathways. Mutations in the corresponding genes result in complex phenotypes that often involve sterility, or lethal, when knocked-out making them a challenge to analyze. We dissect these phenotypes by studying mutants that have differing residual enzyme activities. This allows us to determine the critical points in plant metabolism that each enzyme activity affects and the components of plant development that rely that function. Our research shows that these enzymes fulfill surprisingly dynamic roles impacting key aspects of development and affecting various subcellular compartments: one is a "hub" mediating critical protein-protein interactions essential for transmethylation reactions throughout plant cells, and another controls the abundance of a key metabolite produced in methionine recycling. Changes in the content of this metabolite have critical effects on plant fertility and development. The study of mutants and gene silencing lines with targeted reductions in specific enzyme activities reveals a fascinating crosstalk between these basic biochemical pathways and plant hormone signaling, the results of which underlie key developmental events. I use Arabidopsis thaliana for this research because it is easy to maintain, genetically manipulate and analyze. Because the targets of this research are present in all plants, the results have broad relevance. The current research has the potential to improve abiotic stress tolerance, vascular development and thus crop productivity.