Calcium decoding in Marchantia polymorpha: the roles of calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs) and CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs) in abiotic stress responses.

Rose, Althea (2023) Calcium decoding in Marchantia polymorpha: the roles of calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs) and CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs) in abiotic stress responses. Masters thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

Plants are sessile organisms, rooted in place. They must respond to stresses as they cannot move away from them. In response to stresses there are localized increases in calcium ion concentration in the cell cytosol or organelles such as the nucleus and chloroplasts. Calcium required for these increases comes from internal stores such as the vacuole, or external sources. Calcium increases encode information which is decoded by calcium binding proteins (CBPs) to distinct, specific downstream signalling pathways. One class of CBPs is Calcineurin-B like proteins (CBLs), sensor relay proteins which bind calcium and interact with CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs). CIPKs phosphorylate downstream targets such as ion channels allowing plant responses to stresses. In Arabidopsis thaliana there are 26 CIPKs and 10 CBLs. This is a complex network with much redundancy, meaning that it is difficult to unpick. Therefore, we investigate the CBL-CIPK network in Marchantia polymorpha, a basal land plant with only 3 CBLs and 2 CIPKs, making its network easier to unpick. M. polymorpha is a good model system because of established molecular genetic techniques and easy propagation and maintenance in the haploid gametophyte generation. This project has demonstrated that the salt sensitivity phenotype of M. polymorpha cipk-b knockout mutants previously demonstrated is not due to osmotic stress but is salt-stress specific, identified CBL-A as a candidate gene for osmotic stress response signalling in M. polymorpha, and materials have been made to allow future investigation of the calcium dependence of CBL-CIPK interactions in M. polymorpha. CBLs and CIPKs are conserved throughout plant species. Knowledge gained from this research can be applied to higher plants including crops, allowing crop improvement to improve plant responses to stress.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	22 Mar 2023 14:39
Last Modified:	22 Mar 2023 14:39
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/91655
DOI:

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