Publications by authors named "Kimberley Chin"

Cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels (CNGCs) have been firmly established as Ca2+-conducting ion channels that regulate a wide variety of physiological responses in plants. CNGC2 has been implicated in plant immunity and Ca2+ signaling due to the autoimmune phenotypes exhibited by null mutants of CNGC2 in Arabidopsis thaliana. However, cngc2 mutants display additional phenotypes that are unique among autoimmune mutants, suggesting that CNGC2 has functions beyond defense and generates distinct Ca2+ signals in response to different triggers.

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The Arabidopsis autoimmune mutant, defense-no death 1 (dnd1) is a null mutant of CYCLIC NUCLEOTIDE-GATED ION CHANNEL2 (AtCNGC2). dnd1 exhibits constitutive pathogen resistance responses including higher levels of endogenous salicylic acid (SA), which is an important signaling molecule for pathogen defense responses. Recently we have reported that dnd1 exhibits a significantly delayed flowering phenotype, indicating the involvement of AtCNGC2 in flowering transition.

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Article Synopsis
  • Arabidopsis thaliana has a family of 20 cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels (CNGCs) that play roles in important processes like pathogen defense and development through calcium signaling.
  • The mutant AtCNGC2, known as dnd1, displays autoimmune traits and fails to initiate an effective defense response, raising questions about its role and relationship to closely related channel AtCNGC4.
  • The study identifies a mutant, rdd1, that can suppress many of dnd1's characteristics but not the Ca(2+) hypersensitivity, suggesting RDD1 plays a part in the signaling pathways connected to both AtCNGC2 and AtCNGC4, indicating a possible complex interaction between these channels.
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To investigate the structure-function relationship of plant cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels (CNGCs), we identified a total of 29 mutant alleles of the chimeric AtCNGC11/12 gene that induces multiple defense responses in the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) mutant, constitutive expresser of PR genes22 (cpr22). Based on computational modeling, two new alleles, S100 (AtCNGC11/12:G459R) and S137 (AtCNGC11/12:R381H), were identified as counterparts of human CNGA3 (a human CNGC) mutants. Both mutants lost all cpr22-mediated phenotypes.

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Recently, we reported the role of Arabidopsis cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channel (AtCNGC) 11 and 12 in Ca2+-dependent physiological responses. AtCNGC11 and 12 have been reported to be involved in plant immunity, but whether these channels play additional physiological roles was not clear before. Using single and double knockout mutants, we have found that these channels play significant roles in Ca2+ signaling, which mediates several physiological processes, such as gravitropic bending and senescence.

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Arabidopsis cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels (AtCNGCs) form a large family consisting of 20 members. These channels have so far been reported to be involved in a diverse range of physiological phenomena. For example, AtCNGC18 was reported to play an important role in pollen tube growth, while AtCNGC2, 4, 11, and 12 were implicated in mediating pathogen defence.

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Recently we have reported that the αC-helix in the cyclic nucleotide binding domain (CNBD) is required for channel regulation and function of cyclic nucleotide gated ion channels (CNGCs) in Arabidopsis. A mutation at arginine 557 to cysteine (R557C) in the αC-helix of the CNBD caused an alteration in channel regulation. Protein sequence alignments revealed that R557 is located in a region that is important for calmodulin (CaM) binding.

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The involvement of cyclic nucleotide gated ion channels (CNGCs) in the signal transduction of animal light and odorant perception is well documented. Although plant CNGCs have recently been revealed to mediate multiple stress responses and developmental pathways, studies that aim to elucidate their structural and regulatory properties are still very much in their infancy. The structure-function relationship of plant CNGCs was investigated here by using the chimeric Arabidopsis AtCNGC11/12 gene that induces multiple defence responses in the Arabidopsis mutant constitutive expresser of PR genes 22 (cpr22) for the identification of functionally essential residues.

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We used the chimeric Arabidopsis cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channel AtCNGC11/12 to conduct a structure-function study of plant cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels (CNGCs). AtCNGC11/12 induces multiple pathogen resistance responses in the Arabidopsis mutant constitutive expresser of PR genes 22 (cpr22). A genetic screen for mutants that suppress cpr22-conferred phenotypes identified an intragenic mutant, #73, which has a glutamate to lysine substitution (E519K) at the beginning of the eighth beta-sheet of the cyclic nucleotide-binding domain in AtCNGC11/12.

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