In response to environmental stress, plant growth, development and/or yield can be adversely affected. Recently, the Arabidopsis thaliana heterotrimer G-protein beta subunit (AGB1) has been linked to Arabidopsis seed production in response to water availability and an AGB1-interacting protein has been linked to Arabidopsis susceptibility to a bacterial pathogen. With the release of the Arabidopsis G-protein interactome, it is greatly anticipated that the role of AGB1 in abiotic stress and biotic stress responses will be determined, since it is largely unknown. The funded project will examine the role of putative AGB1-interacting proteins toward plant fitness in response to drought conditions and in response to bacterial and viral infections. Using various Arabidopsis genetic backgrounds, a functional genetics approach coupled with biochemical and molecular approaches will be used to detect altered hormonal and signaling pathways in response to stress stimuli. The intellectual merit of this proposal consists of the following: (1) deciphering the Arabidopsis AGB1 signaling pathway in response to drought/abiotic stress and pathogen/biotic stress and (2) identifying the functional roles of putative Arabidopsis AGB1-interacting proteins in mediating these responses.
The broader scope of this research includes furthering plant science initiatives to increase the yield of essential plant products for energy applications, agriculture, forestry and other beneficial needs. The funded project will provide numerous research opportunities to increase the number of students including minorities and women from Chowan University and surrounding communities that enter science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers including the plant sciences. In addition, the funded project will help strengthen the STEM curriculum at Chowan University and further undergraduate student and local middle school/high school student advancement in interdisciplinary learning. Chowan University is a small primarily undergraduate institution with a growing minority enrollment located in a rural and underdeveloped section of northeastern North Carolina.
A NSF Research Starter Grant was awarded to Dr. Tyrell Carr at Chowan University located in Murfreesboro, North Carolina. Chowan University is a small primarily undergraduate institution with a significant minority enrollment. Several pieces of equipment were purchased for biochemistry, cell biology and molecular biology research purposes and student-centered research instruction, including a basic fluorescence microscope system. A major outcome of this project was the discovery of Arabidopsis mutants that displayed greater impaired growth in response to elevated levels of sodium chloride (NaCl) compared to wild-type Arabidopsis. These mutants were deficient for an AGB1-interacting protein or putative AGB1-interacting protein. NaCl stress signaling in plants mirrors other signaling pathways like temperature stress and drought stress. To further expand research, mutants deficient for an AGB1-interacting protein or putative AGB1-interacting protein were screened in response to other stresses such as cold stress, heat stress, drought stress, pathogen stress and unfolded protein stress. Outcomes from these studies are still unfolding. The NSF Research Starter Grant provided opportunities for numerous undergraduate students, especially those completing senior capstone projects for graduation and prepared students for NSF-REU summer internships. The NSF Research Starter Grant also provided opportunities for collaborative research with faculty at other universities. These collaborative research opportunities were related to plant metabolism and gene expression regulation. It should be pointed out that the NSF Research Starter Grant was instrumental in obtaining a NSF Research Opportunity Award to conduct research at Iowa State University.
