INVESTIGATING THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS CONTROLLING PLANT FORM AND FUNCTION Choose any picture above for more information about current research projects

Ethylene

A recurring theme in many of the projects in the lab is an emphasis on understanding the role of ethylene in plant development. We are focusing primarily on Arabidopsis and are taking advantage of the large number of mutants available in the ethylene synthesis, perception and signal transduction pathways. Ethylene is produced by just two committed steps involving ACC synthase and ACC oxidase. Once produced, there are 5 presumptive ethylene receptors that sense the ethylene and a signal transduction is produced that ultimately leads to alterations in gene expression of downstream genes. We are focusing on the ethylene perception step, and trying to understand when each of the 5 receptors is needed during plant development, and also ascertain whether these receptors have specific or redundant roles. We are also looking at the production of ethylene, and the potential regulation of the level of ethylene production by a new protein in plants, ACC deaminase. Ultimately we would like to understand the role of ethylene in several developmental processes, its crosstalk with other plant hormones and its affect on the expression of downstream genes.