Calcium signal transduction in Arabidopsis

植物必须持续监测它们的环境，并通过适当的细胞和生理适应来应对变化。无论是对温度和光照等生长线索的响应，还是对病原体攻击、干旱或盐度等不利环境胁迫的响应，植物都会启动特定的适应性细胞事件，包括基因表达、酶活性和代谢调节的变化。这些现象是通过复杂的信息处理系统来调节的，被称为信号转导，它协调细胞的机制，为给定的环境线索提供适当的时间和特异性的协调反应。植物在对几乎所有类型的内在和环境信号的反应中，钙离子作为细胞过程的关键调节剂。我的研究项目旨在了解植物细胞利用钙离子，特别是钙结合蛋白来调节植物应激反应和发育途径的独特方式。我的实验室在我们的研究项目中使用各种分子、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、生物技术和农业社区都很重要，因为我们的目标是了解植物如何与环境相互作用。我的研究项目为下一代科学家提供了高水平的培训，并为加拿大作物的工程性能和抗逆性的未来应用奠定了基础。

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.