Signaling by Ethylene Receptors of Arabidopsis

已向G博士颁发了一笔赠款。新罕布什尔州大学的EricScheier研究拟南芥中乙烯受体的信号传导。 气体乙烯是一种植物激素，可诱导包括成熟和衰老在内的各种反应。 植物通过使用称为乙烯受体的特定蛋白质来感知乙烯。 这些受体能够直接结合乙烯，然后向细胞发出信号，以刺激介导成熟和衰老反应的基因。 本计画将阐明乙烯侦测所产生的讯号传递机制。 激素信号需要受体与其他蛋白质的相互作用。 因此，该项目将使用已建立的和新的生物化学方法来鉴定与乙烯受体相互作用的蛋白质。 此外，本项目还将利用遗传学方法研究乙烯受体如何向这些蛋白质传递信号，植物乙烯信号的调控具有广泛的商业应用前景。 例如，乙烯被广泛用于诱导水果如番茄的成熟。 乙烯信号的中断已被证明可以延长转基因番茄的货架期和转基因花的瓶插寿命。 这项研究的结果将为乙烯信号传导的早期阶段提供一个工程改造的机制框架，从而造福社会。 乙烯敏感性的改变将增强我们调节具有重要农业意义的作物的成熟和果实成熟等过程的能力。

A grant has been awarded to Dr. G. Eric Schaller of the University of New Hampshire to study signaling by ethylene receptors in the plant Arabidopsis. The gas ethylene is a plant hormone that induces a variety of responses including ripening and senescence. Plants perceive ethylene through use of specific proteins known as ethylene receptors. These receptors are capable of directly binding ethylene and then signaling the cell to undertake the stimulation of genes that mediate the ripening and senescence responses. This project will elucidate the mechanism of signaling that occurs as a consequence of ethylene detection. Hormone signaling requires the interaction of receptors with additional proteins. Therefore, this project will use established and novel biochemical approaches to identify proteins that interact with the ethylene receptors. In addition, this project will use genetic approaches to determine how the ethylene receptors signal to these proteins.The regulation of ethylene signaling in plants has broad commercial application. For example, ethylene is widely used to induce ripening of fruit such as tomato. The interruption of ethylene signaling has been shown to extend the shelf-life of transgenic tomatoes and the vase life of transgenic flowers. Results from the proposed research will benefit society by providing a mechanistic framework for engineering modifications into the early steps of ethylene signaling. Modifications of ethylene sensitivity will enhance our ability to regulate such processes as abscission and fruit-ripening in crops of agronomic importance.