Dissecting calcium signalling pathways in basal land plants (MILLER_U17DTP1)

植物需要对环境做出反应才能适应和生长。植物经常改变细胞中钙离子的浓度以响应不同的环境刺激和胁迫[1]。细胞内钙浓度的这些变化引发了许多下游反应，包括基因表达的重新编程。因此，钙信号通路对于植物响应和适应环境刺激和胁迫是必不可少的。高等植物，如模式植物拟南芥，拥有广泛的与钙信号通路相关的蛋白质网络，传统的遗传学研究已经在这些通路的组成部分中发现了突变体。然而，经常观察到遗传冗余，这阻碍了对这些信号通路的进一步研究。最近的基因组分析表明，编码钙信号通路组成部分的基因家族在基地植物物种中相当小[2，3]。因此，对基地植物中钙信号通路的研究将提供对高等植物中钙信号通路的独特见解和理解，并可能发现可以操纵的新的潜在靶点，以提高作物的抗逆性。本博士项目将采取结合植物遗传学、分子生物学、生物信息学和生物化学的多学科方法来剖析基地植物中的钙信号通路。参考文献：1.Kudla，Batitic和Hashimoto。植物细胞22：541-63(2010)2.埃德尔和库德拉。《细胞钙》57：231-46(2015年)3.哈梅尔、辛和S《植物动态》19：79--(2014)

Plants need to respond to the environment in order to adapt and grow. Plants often modify the concentration of calcium ions in their cells in response to different environmental stimuli and stresses [1]. These changes in cellular calcium concentration trigger many downstream responses, including re-programming of gene expression. Calcium signalling pathways are therefore essential for plants to respond and adapt to environmental stimuli and stresses.Higher plants such as the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana have extensive networks of proteins associated with calcium signalling pathways, and traditional genetic studies have identified mutants in components of these pathways. However, genetic redundancy is frequently observed and this has hindered further study of these signalling pathways. Recent genomic analyses have revealed that the gene families encoding components of calcium signalling pathways are considerably smaller in basal land plant species [2, 3]. The study of these pathways in basal land plants will therefore offer unique insights and understandings into calcium signalling pathways in higher plants, and may identify new potential targets that could be manipulated to improve stress tolerance in crop species.This PhD project will undertake a multi-disciplinary approach combining plant genetics, molecular biology, bioinformatics and biochemistry to dissect calcium signalling pathways in basal land plants.References:1. Kudla, Batistic & Hashimoto. Plant Cell 22:541-63 (2010)2. Edel & Kudla. Cell Calcium 57:231-46 (2015)3. Hamel, Sheen & Séguin. Trends Plant Sci 19: 79-89 (2014)