Award details

How plant heterotrimeric G protein pathway components mediate responses to hormones and other signals

Reference	BBS/E/C/00804163
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Peter Hedden
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	Rothamsted Research
Department	Rothamsted Research Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	385,252
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/04/1999
End date	31/03/2002
Duration	36 months

Abstract

Heterotrimeric G protein signalling pathway is one of the most highly conserved mechanisms in non plant organisms that enables cells to sense and respond to changes in their environment. Essential components of this pathway are cell surface G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that perceive various extracellular ligands, and heterotrimeric G proteins (complex of three proteins: Ga, Gwith and G? sub-units) that transduce signals from activated GPCRs to downstream effectors such as enzymes or ion channels. Recently genes encoding homologues of GPCR, and Ga, Gwith and Gv have been identified in plants. Moreover, several biochemical and pharmacological studies in plants has implicated the heterotrimeric G proteins in responses to a variety of environmental and endogenous cues: blue and red light, pathogens, hormones, etc. Our objectives are to gain more information about function of putative heterotrimeric G protein signalling components and to test their interaction, and to identify potential downstream effectors. Our main targets are GCR1 [homologue of GPCRs we have recently isolated from Arabidopsis; Plakidou-Dymock et al. (1998) Current Biology 8: 315-324] and GPA1 [Arabidopsis homologue of Ga; Ma (1994) Plant Mol. Biol. 26: 1611-1636]. Primary scientific targets of this projects are: 1) To test the hypothesis that GCR1 is stimulated by specific chemical ligands, and to identify these; 2) To determine whether or not GCR1 signals through GPA1; 3) To characterise antisense- GCR1 transgenic lines; 4) To generate and characterise knock- out mutants in GCR1, GPA1 and genes encoding proteins that interact with them; 5) To determine factors that influence the expression of GCR1, GPA1 and related genes.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Biochemistry & Cell Biology (BCB)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

I accept the terms and conditions of use (opens in new window)

export PDF file

back to list new search