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SUMMARY:The SnRK1 signaling pathway – connecting environmental stress an
 d plant growth - Dr Elena Baena González\, Plant Stress Signaling\, Insti
 tuto Gulbenkian de Ciência\, Portugal 
DTSTART:20130605T130000Z
DTEND:20130605T140000Z
UID:TALK44999@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Helen Mawdsley
DESCRIPTION:Adverse environmental conditions have a strong impact on plant
  growth and development. Often associated with stress is a reduction in ph
 otosynthesis and/or respiration\, resulting in an energy deficit that acti
 vates the highly conserved SnRK1 (Snf1-Related protein Kinase 1) protein k
 inase\, the plant ortholog of yeast Snf1 and mammalian AMPK. SnRK1s coordi
 nate nutrient remobilization\, growth\, and storage and promote stress tol
 erance through the regulation of key biosynthetic enzymes and over a thous
 and genes. Accordingly\, SnRK1 deficiency is associated with a diminished 
 ability of plants to tolerate abiotic and biotic stress. In addition\, SnR
 K1 has an impact on development\, from seed germination to reproduction an
 d senescence\, suggesting that these kinases serve as integration points o
 f metabolic\, hormonal and environmental signals to finely orchestrate pla
 nt growth. Despite the relevance of SnRK1 kinases for plant´s life\, virt
 ually nothing is known about how the pathway operates. To address this\, w
 e are currently undertaking several complementary strategies to understand
  how SnRK1 is regulated\, to uncover novel components of the pathway and t
 o identify cellular processes that are under SnRK1 control. As an example\
 , our work aimed at understanding SnRK1 regulation through phosphorylation
 \, has unraveled clade A type 2C protein phosphatases (PP2Cs)\, establishe
 d repressors of the ABA pathway\, as negative regulators of SnRK1 signalin
 g\, thereby providing a molecular explanation for the extensive genetic in
 teractions reported between sugar and ABA signaling. Release of PP2C inhib
 ition by the ABA-bound PYR/PYL receptor activates simultaneously SnRK1 and
  ABA signaling thereby triggering a more robust stress response through co
 mplementary gene expression and metabolic readjustments. Many of the proce
 sses affected by the SnRK1 pathway are also under ABA control\, and theref
 ore understanding how these two central pathways crosstalk may offer new i
 nsight not only into the mechanisms of stress tolerance\, but also into fu
 ndamental processes like seed maturation and germination. \n
LOCATION:Auditorium of The Sainsbury Laboratory (Bateman Street)
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