Molecular Regulation of Auxin Signaling in Plant Development

蛋白质是复杂的分子，执行各种重要的细胞功能，从结构决定到细胞化学调节。由此可见，在任何给定时间内，细胞中存在的不同类型蛋白质的数量和数量对于定义该细胞的功能至关重要——包括它们对组织和器官的贡献，这些组织和器官构成了它们所属的有机体的“身体计划”。蛋白质是由“基因作为生命的字典”编码或表达的，正是在基因表达和蛋白质合成的点上，细胞才能调节在任何给定时间存在的成千上万种蛋白质的表达。但是这些复杂的细胞蛋白质在合成后也可以被调节——通过选择蛋白质破坏的过程，作为细胞调节其蛋白质补体能力的一个方面。这一点在植物中表现得最为明显，植物的目标蛋白质降解机制比人类复杂约10倍。在这项提议中，我们试图更好地理解植物中靶向蛋白破坏的潜在机制。这一基础知识将对我们理解植物如何发育以及它们如何适应干旱胁迫、寒冷适应和全球变暖等环境挑战产生深远的影响。

Summary of the ProposalProteins are complex molecules that carry out a variety of important cellular functions that range from structure determination to the regulation of the cell's chemistry. It follows that the number of different types and amounts of proteins present in a cell at any given time are critical to defining the function of that cell - including their contribution to the tissues and organs that make up the 'body plan' of the organism of which they are a part. Proteins are coded or expressed' by genes as the dictionary' of life, and it is at the point of gene expression and protein synthesis that the cell can regulate expression of the many thousands of proteins that exist at any given time. But this complex repertoire of cellular proteins can also be regulated after they are synthesized - by a process of selected protein destruction as one aspect of the ability of cells to regulate their complement of proteins. Nowhere is this more evident than in plants, where the targeted protein degradation machinery is about 10x more complex than in humans. In this proposal, we seek to better understand the underlying mechanisms by which targeted protein destruction is regulated in plants. This foundational knowledge will have far-reaching impacts on our understanding of how plants develop and how they adapt to environmental challenges such as drought stress, cold adaptation and global warming.