ER stress transducing transcription factors in plants

植物中的逆境转导转录因子植物耐逆性是一种非常有价值的性状，因为在各种环境条件下，特别是气候变化加剧的环境条件下，生产用作食物和燃料的作物的需求。这个项目的目标是更好地了解植物感知不利环境条件的机制，以及它们如何保护自己免受这些条件造成的压力。该项目将重点研究两种被称为转录因子的因子，它们“开启”应激反应基因的表达。这些转录因子的不同寻常之处在于，在正常情况下，它们处于休眠状态，附着在植物细胞胞质中的膜上，但在胁迫条件下，它们被激活并从膜中释放出来，进入细胞核。这两种转录因子被不同的压力激活--一种是热胁迫，另一种是盐胁迫--每一种都激活了一组不同的基因。研究人员将确定这些因素是如何激活的，它们如何区分不同的压力，以及它们如何从细胞的一个隔间重新定位到另一个隔间。这些因子启动不同的一组基因，因此研究人员还将检查这些因子如何选择性地激活不同的靶基因。该系统代表了植物中新发现的一种胁迫反应途径，并具有操纵植物实现更强的逆境耐受性的前景。该项目还将提供机会，在植物胁迫研究领域培训乔治·华盛顿·卡弗的实习生。

Stephen H. HowellProposal number IOS-0919707ER stress transducing transcription factors in plantsPlant stress tolerance is a highly valued trait given the demands for producing crops for food and fuel under all kinds of environmental conditions, particularly those exacerbated by climate change. The goal of this project is to better understand the mechanism by which plants perceive adverse environmental conditions and how they protect themselves from the stress caused by these conditions. This project will focus on two factors called transcription factors that "turn on" the expression of stress response genes. These transcription factors are unusual in that they are "dormant" and attached to membranes in the cytoplasm of plant cells under normal conditions, but are activated and released from the membranes and enter the nucleus under stress conditions. The two transcription factors are activated by different stresses -- one by heat and the other by salt stress -- and each turns on a different set of genes. The investigators will determine how the factors are activated, how they distinguish different stresses and how they are relocated from one compartment of the cell to another. The factors turn on different sets of genes, and so the investigators will also examine how the factors selectively activate different target genes. This system represents a newly discovered stress response pathway in plants and has prospects for manipulating plants to achieve greater stress tolerance. The project will also provide the opportunity to train George Washington Carver interns in the area of plant stress research.