UVR8 photoreceptor action

紫外线b （UV-B）辐射是太阳光中很小但能量很大的成分。暴露于UV-B波长（280-315 nm）对植物有许多影响，包括代谢和发育的变化，影响生化成分、植物结构和对害虫和病原体的防御。UV-B辐射的影响是由于它能够调节许多植物基因的表达，包括那些参与代谢途径、紫外线保护、形态发生和防御的基因。因此，了解植物如何感知UV-B辐射以及它如何引发反应是很重要的。参与这些过程的关键成分是一种叫做UVR8的蛋白质，它作为一种光感受器来检测UV-B辐射。UVR8与其他几种蛋白质相互作用，包括一些调节基因表达的蛋白质，在植物中启动对UV-B的反应，但也与抑制UVR8活性的蛋白质相互作用。然而，尽管我们知道它涉及UVR8蛋白的特定区域，但我们对确定UVR8如何与这些蛋白相互作用以控制其活性的分子机制知之甚少。该项目的基础是我们最近确定了一种重要的机制，可以调节哪些蛋白质与UVR8相互作用以调节反应。因此，这个项目的目的是更全面地了解这种机制以及它如何影响UVR8的作用。除了确定UVR8作用的分子基础外，所获得的信息还开辟了识别UVR8变异及其相互作用蛋白的可能性，从而可以操纵作物中UVR8的活性，以提高质量和生产力。

Ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation is a minor but very energetic component of sunlight. Exposure to UV-B wavelengths (280-315 nm) has numerous effects on plants, including changes in metabolism and development that impact biochemical composition, plant architecture and defence against pests and pathogens. The effects of UV-B radiation are due to its ability to regulate the expression of numerous plant genes, including those involved in metabolic pathways, UV-protection, morphogenesis and defence. It is therefore important to understand how UV-B radiation is perceived by plants and how it initiates responses. A pivotal component involved in these processes is a protein called UVR8, which acts as a photoreceptor to detect UV-B radiation. UVR8 physically interacts with several other proteins, including a number of proteins that regulate gene expression, to initiate responses to UV-B in plants, but also with proteins that repress UVR8 activity. However, we have little understanding of the molecular mechanisms that determine how UVR8 interacts differentially with these proteins to control its activity, although we know that it involves a particular region of the UVR8 protein. The basis of this project is that we have recently identified a mechanism that is important in regulating which proteins interact with UVR8 to modulate responses. Hence the aim of this project is to gain a more complete understanding of this mechanism and how it affects UVR8 action. In addition to establishing the molecular basis of UVR8 action, the information gained opens up the possibility of identifying variants of UVR8 and its interacting proteins that would allow manipulation of UVR8 activity in crop plants to enhance aspects of quality and productivity.