Dissection of the ERECTA receptor-like kinase signaling pathway in Arabidopsis

Elena Shpak；提案IOS-843340；拟南芥中ERECTA受体样激酶信号通路的剖析植物物种在大小上差异巨大。虽然加州沿海的红杉可以长到350英尺高，但水生水生植物如此之小，以至于它们像玉米粉的斑点。如果排除气候和营养的差异，植物的成熟大小是由它们的基因决定的。为了了解基因如何控制植物的大小，研究人员正在研究ERECTA基因家族，该家族调控植物器官发育中细胞的分裂和分化。ERECTA家族基因编码的蛋白质如何在分子水平上发挥作用尚不清楚。初步研究表明，两种新的蛋白质参与了一系列称为ERECTA信号通路的事件。其中一种蛋白可能控制ERECTA蛋白的稳定性。为了研究这些蛋白质在植物生长中的作用，研究人员将创造和分析这些蛋白质显著减少或缺失的植物。这项研究的另一个目标是利用生化方法在分子水平上研究这些蛋白质的功能和ERECTA稳定性的调节。了解ERECTA如何发挥作用可能会使设计出具有较大可食用器官的植物或生产高生物量替代燃料的快速作物成为可能。Eerecta是一个重要的植物蛋白家族，称为受体蛋白，对其信号机制的研究有助于我们了解许多其他的信号通路。该项目将为高中、本科生和研究生提供一个培训平台，以及新的首席调查员的职业发展。该项目还包括通过参加田纳西州青少年科学和人文研讨会和田纳西州科学奥林匹克竞赛，将研究与在初中生中推广科学的努力相结合，并努力更新和重组本科植物生理学课程。

Elena Shpak; proposal IOS-843340; Dissection of the ERECTA receptor-like kinase signaling pathway in ArabidopsisPlant species vary tremendously in size. While California's coastal redwood tree can grow to a height of 350 feet, aquatic watermeal plants are so small that they resemble specks of cornmeal. When variations due to climate and nutrition are excluded, the mature size of plants is determined by their genes. To understand how genes control plant size, the researchers are studying the ERECTA family of genes which regulates division and differentiation of cells in developing plant organs. How proteins encoded by the ERECTA family genes function at a molecular level is not known. Preliminary research suggests that two novel proteins are involved in a cascade of events called the ERECTA signaling pathway. One of the proteins might control the stability of the ERECTA protein. To examine the role of these proteins in plant growth, the researchers will create and analyze plants where these proteins are dramatically reduced or absent. Another goal of the research is to investigate the function of these proteins and the regulation of ERECTA stability at the molecular level using a biochemical approach. Understanding how ERECTA functions might permit the design of plants with larger edible organs or fast-growing crops yielding high biomass for alternative fuels. ERECTA belongs to an important family of plant proteins called "receptor kinases", and determination of its signaling mechanism might help us understand many other signaling cascades. This project will provide a training platform for high school, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as career development of the new principal investigator. This project also includes integration of the research with efforts to promote science among middle and high school students, through participation in the Tennessee Junior Science and Humanities Symposium and the Tennessee Science Olympiad, and efforts to update and reorganize the undergraduate Plant physiology course.