Genetic and Biochemical Characterization of new ABA Response Factors

小分子脱落酸（ABA）是调控植物生长发育的重要激素，在植物对环境胁迫的响应中起着关键作用。作为一种应激激素，ABA是植物如何应对极端环境变化（如干旱或意外冻结）的关键调节剂。由于ABA在暴露于极端环境中的重要性，现代生物技术专家重新设计了ABA反应途径，以创造在干旱条件下提高产量的植物。因此，对ABA生物学的研究已经并将继续对农业和人类福利产生影响。像许多激素一样，ABA通过与受体结合而起作用，而受体开启了最终控制下游生理过程的信号通路。最近的研究已经确定了三种结合ABA的受体蛋白。迄今为止发现的受体都对天然形式的ABA表现出强烈的排他性偏好，但一些研究表明，存在未发现的受体，可以结合自然形式和非自然形式的ABA。详细了解ABA是如何被感知的是植物生物学的一个主要目标，这将需要识别所有识别ABA的受体。首席研究员发现了一个由5个新蛋白组成的家族，它们是天然和非天然ABA异构体的候选受体。因为这些是第一个与天然和非天然形式的ABA相互作用的候选蛋白质，这项研究应该填补我们对ABA如何在植物中起作用的理解的空白。该研究项目将使用生物化学和分子遗传学方法来了解这些蛋白质在植物中的功能。此外，现代生物学研究需要培养学生在不同领域之间移动解决问题的信心。研究者的实验室从事化学-生物学界面的跨学科研究，是培养能够迎接现代科学努力挑战的科学家的理想环境。该项目将包括以培养本科生为重点的活动，并使学生接触化学和生物学界面的多学科研究。

The small molecule abscisic acid (ABA) is an important hormone that regulates many aspects of plant growth and development and plays a critical role in plant response to environmental stress. As a stress hormone, ABA is a critical regulator of how plants cope with extreme changes in the environment such as droughts or unexpected freezes. Because of its importance during exposure to environmental extremes, the ABA response pathway has been reengineered by modern biotechnologists to create plants with improved yields under conditions of drought. Thus, research on the biology of ABA has had, and will continue to have, an impact on agriculture and human welfare. ABA, like many hormones, works by binding to receptors that turn on signaling pathways that ultimately control downstream physiological processes. Recent studies have identified three receptor proteins that bind ABA. The receptors identified to date all show strong exclusive preference for the natural form of ABA, but several studies have suggested the existence of undiscovered receptors that can bind to both natural and non-natural forms. A detailed understanding of how ABA is perceived is a major goal in plant biology and will require identifying all of the receptors that recognize ABA.The Principal Investigator's has discovered a family of 5 new proteins that are candidate receptors for both natural and non-natural ABA isomers. Because these are the first candidate proteins to interact with both natural and non-natural forms of ABA, the research should fill a current gap in our understanding of how ABA works in plants. The research project will use biochemical and molecular genetic approaches to understand the function of these proteins in plants. In addition, modern biological research requires training students to be confident moving between fields to solve problems. The investigator's lab engages in interdisciplinary research at the chemistry-biology interface and is an ideal environment for training scientists able to meet the challenges of modern scientific endeavors. The project will include activities focused on training undergraduate students and expose students to multidisciplinary research at the interface of chemistry and biology.