Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Plants must sense and respond to their environment to survive. Receptor kinases (RKs) act as key sensors at the plant cell surface to perceive extracellular stimuli and activate intracellular signal transduction pathways, which ultimately lead to appropriate cellular/physiological responses. Many RKs have been identified that perceive cognate ligands to control growth, development, reproduction, immunity, and abiotic stress responses; however, the intracellular signalling mechanisms downstream of most RKs remain unknown, representing a critical knowledge gap and hindering the development of improved traits in crops. The long-term goal of my research is to advance knowledge of plant cell signalling and stress biology by deciphering the pathways that connect RKs to downstream physiological processes at the molecular level, as well as applying this knowledge to engineer enhanced properties in crop species. The DeFalco lab uses a multidisciplinary approach and state-of-the-art molecular techniques to study how RKs trigger specific responses to environmental stimuli. We are particularly focused on the cytosolic protein kinases that associate with RK complexes to activate pathway-specific signalling via phosphorylation and regulation of substrate proteins. The proposed research will integrate molecular biology, biochemistry, and plant physiology with systems approaches to study the roles of such kinase-substrate networks in mediating pathway-specific responses downstream of RKs that perceive key signalling peptides and environmental stresses. We will also leverage our detailed understanding of kinase-substrate interactions to engineer these signalling pathways. This work will reveal fundamental insights into how plants detect and respond to their environment in a stimulus-specific manner, and ultimately facilitate the development of more resilient crops.