G. Eric Schaller
Professor of Biological Sciences
Research Areas: Cell Biology, Plant Molecular Biology
Plant Hormones: Perception and Signal Transduction
We use a combination of biochemical, molecular, and genetic strategies to analyze signaling pathways in plants, making use of the model plant Arabidopsis. One of our focuses is on the pathway of ethylene signal transduction. Ethylene serves as a gaseous hormone in plants, and is perhaps most widely known for its role in the ripening of such fruit as tomatoes, bananas, and apples. Ethylene receptors have been identified and my laboratory is determining how these transduce the ethylene signal. A second focus of ours is on the pathway for cytokinin signal transduction. Cytokinins regulate cell division and metabolism, stimulate chloroplast development, modulate shoot and root development, and delay senescence. The cytokinin signal is relayed from membrane to nucleus via a phosphorelay making use of receptors, phospho-transfer proteins, and type-B response regulators. Our research is primarily focused on the type-B response regulators which act as transcription factors to regulate the initial response of plants to cytokinin. These studies are aimed at developing mechanistic models for how ethylene and cytokinin are perceived and the signal transduced in the plant.
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Publications
Gao, Z., Wen, C.-K., Binder, B.M.,, Chen, Y.-F., Chang, J., Chiang, Y.-H., Kerris III, R.J., Chang, C., Schaller, G.E. (2008) Heteromeric interactions among ethylene receptors mediate signaling in Arabidopsis. J. Biol. Chem. 283:23081-23810
Argyros, R.D., Mathews, D.E., Chiang, Y.-H., Palmer, C.M., Thibault, D.M., Etheridge, N., Argyros, D.A., Mason, M.G., Kieber, J.J., and Schaller, G.E. (2008) Type-B response regulators of Arabidopsis play key roles in cytokinin signaling and plant development. Plant Cell 20:2102-2116
Chen, Y.-F., Shakeel, S.N., Bowers, J., Zhao-X.-C., Etheridge, N., and Schaller, G.E. (2007) Ligand-induced degradation of the ethylene receptor ETR2 through a proteasome-dependent pathway in Arabidopsis. J. Biol. Chem. 282:24752 - 24758