In addition to its important role as a source of energy for photosynthesis, light plays an extremely important role in the regulation of plant development. While much is known about the phytochrome system, responsive to wavelengths at the red end of the electromagnetic spectrum, little is known about photoreceptors or their signal transduction chains at the blue end. The investigator proposes to continue investigating a blue light mediated phosphorylation of a plasma membrane protein that is hypothesized to be involved in phototropism and perhaps other blue light responses. They plan to purify and characterize the protein and other proteins which may interact with it in photoreception and early signal transduction. Studies of the system at the gene level will be initiated by cloning and sequencing the genes encoding for these proteins. Elucidation of this system at the cell, biochemical and molecular levels should be a major step forward in our understanding of how light regulates plant development.
