EAPSI: The Role of Salicylic Acid Binding Plant Lectins in Hormone Regulated Processes

Westlake Timothy J, Cortland NY

Investigators

Abstract

Plant hormones are a diverse group of regulatory molecules. These chemical regulators dictate an array of plant physiological processes. Despite the recent advances in plant hormone signaling, much is still unknown. This work will look at two novel plant hormone binding proteins and their function in plants. The researcher will attempt to uncover the roles that these two novel proteins play in hormone signaling. The research will be conducted under the direction of Professor Chiu-Ping Cheng. The project will be performed at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan. National Taiwan University is a premiere research institute with equipment and instruments required for the project. The knowledge of plant immunity, plant diseases resistance, and plant molecular biology that Dr. Chiu-Ping Cheng, the host professor, possesses would be invaluable to the project. Salicylic acid is a phenolic plant hormone with critical importance in plant physiology, plant development, and plant disease resistance. Prior work identified targets of salicylic acid utilizing state of the art protein microarrays. Two plant lectin-domain containing proteins were identified as novel salicylic acid binding protein, however their function in salicylic acid signaling is unknown. This work will be pivotal in understanding the mode of action of immune signaling and hormone perception in plants. Specifically, this work will investigate the roles and function of hormone-binding plant lectins with respect to hormone signaling, abiotic defenses, and immune signaling. The knowledge is instrumental to efforts to bolster pathogen and abiotic defense responses in plants. This award, under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program, supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan.