Signal Perception and the Regulation of Growth and Development
Research Synopsis
The Jones lab is interested in heterotrimeric G protein-coupled signaling
and uses genetic model systems to dissect signaling networks. The G-protein
complex serves as the nexus between cell surface receptors and various
downstream enzymes that ultimately alter cell behavior. Metazoans have a
hopelessly complex repertoire of G-protein complexes and cell surface
receptors so we turned to the reference plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, and
the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as our models because these two
organisms have only two potential G protein complexes and few cell surface
receptors. Their simplicity and the ability to genetically "knock out"
or "knock up" the expression of genes in these organisms make them powerful
tools. At present, we are most interested in novel signaling networks that
are used for sensing sugars and other networks used to sense extracellular
nucleotides. We work closely with several other labs in the Dept. of
Pharmacology and use a variety of cell biology approaches, including
sophisticated imaging techniques, 3-D protein structure analyses,
forward and reverse genetic approaches, and biochemistries.
Joo, J.H., Wang, S, Chen, J.G., Jones, A.M., Federoff, NV (2005) Different Signaling and Cell death Roles of Heterotrimeric G Protein a and b Subunits in the Arabidopsis Oxidative Stress Response to Ozone. Plant Cell 17: 957-970. Abstract
Pufky, J., Qiu, Y., Rao, M. V., Hurban, P. Jones, A. M. (2003) The auxin-induced transcriptome for etiolated Arabidopsis seedlings using a structure/function approach. Functional Integrative Genomics. 3: 135-143. Abstract
Dharmasiri, N., Dharmasiri, S., Jones, A. M., Estelle, M. (2003) Auxin action in a cell-free system. Curr. Biol. 13: 1418-1422. Abstract
Chen, Jin-Gui, Willard, F.S., Huang, J., Liang, J., Chasse, S.A.,*Jones, A. M., Siderovski, D.P. (2003) A Seven-transmembrane RGS protein that modulates plant cell proliferation. Science 301: 1728-1731. *corresponding senior author. Abstract
Wang, X-Q., Ullah, H., Jones, A.M., Assmann, SM (2001) G-protein regulation of ion channels and abscisic acid signaling in Arabidopsis guard cells. Science 292: 2070-2072. Abstract
Ullah, H. Chen, J. G., Young, J., Im, K-H., Sussman, MR., Jones, AM (2001) Modulation of Cell Proliferation by Heterotrimeric G-protein in Arabidopsis. Science 292: 2066-2069. Abstract
