Calcium signal transduction in Arabidopsis

植物必须不断监测其环境，并以适当的细胞和生理适应来应对变化。无论是响应生长的线索，如温度和光，或不利的环境压力，如病原体攻击，干旱，或盐度，植物启动特定的，适应性的细胞事件，其中包括基因表达，酶活性的变化，和代谢的调整。这些现象通过复杂的信息处理系统（称为信号转导）进行调节，该系统协调细胞的机制，以提供适当的时间和特定于给定环境提示的协调反应。植物在对几乎所有类型的内在和环境信号的响应期间使用钙离子作为细胞过程的关键调节剂。我的研究计划旨在了解植物细胞使用钙离子，特别是钙结合蛋白的独特方式，以调节植物的应激反应和发育途径。我的实验室在我们的研究计划中使用了各种分子，遗传，生理和生化工具。这项工作将促进我们对植物细胞生物学和胁迫生理学的认识。这项研究对学术界、生物技术界和农业界都很重要，因为我们的目标是了解植物如何与环境相互作用。我的研究计划为下一代科学家提供高水平的培训，并为知识基础做出贡献，这是未来应用的基础，旨在提高加拿大作物的工程性能和抗逆性。

Plants must continually monitor their environment and respond to changes with appropriate cellular and physiological adaptations. Whether responding to growth cues such as temperature and light, or adverse environmental stressors such as pathogen attack, drought, or salinity, plants initiate specific, adaptive cellular events which include changes in gene expression, enzyme activity, and metabolic adjustments. These phenomena are regulated through intricate information-processing systems, termed signal transduction, that orchestrate the cell's machinery into providing a coordinated response that is appropriately timed and specific for a given environmental cue. Plants use calcium ions as key regulators of cell processes during responses to virtually all types of intrinsic and environmental signals. My research program is aimed at understanding the unique ways in which plants cells use calcium ions and, in particular, calcium-binding proteins, to regulate stress response and developmental pathways in plants. My lab uses a variety of molecular, genetic, physiological, and biochemical tools in our research program. This work will advance our knowledge of plant cell biology and stress physiology. This research is important to the academic, biotechnology, and agricultural communities as we aim to understand how plants interact with their environments. My research program provides high-level training for the next generation of scientists and contributes to the knowledge-base that is the foundation for future applications aimed at engineering enhanced performance and stress tolerance in Canadian crops.