Elena Shpak

Keywords:

Signal transduction, receptor kinases, organ size regulation, plant growth and development, Arabidopsis

Research Area:

Description of Research:

The focus of my research is plant growth and development using Arabidopsis as a model system. Specifically we are studying the genetic regulation of organism size. California's coastal redwood tree can grow to a height of 350 feet, an equivalent of a 35-story skyscraper. At the same time, aquatic watermeal plants (genus Wolffia) are so small that they resemble specks of cornmeal floating on the water. Why are some plants so large, while others are so small? Plant organs grow from organ primordia that are formed by the continuous activity of apical meristems. While the meristem determines the size, number and identity of primordia, later processes in the primordia define the final shape and size of organs. We are using a simple plant organ – pedicel - to understand mechanisms regulating tissues grow. A pedicel is a small stalk that connects the flower/fruit to the stem. Using histological approach we study chronologically cell proliferation and elongation patterns in known and new Arabidopsis mutants and use these data to build a computer model of the pedicel growth.
We are also studying the ERECTA-mediated signaling, one of the pathways that determines size and shape of aboveground plant organs. ERECTA is a receptor-like kinase (RLK) with an extracellular leucine-rich repeat domain, a single transmembrane domain, and a cytoplasmic Ser/Thr kinase domain. Two functional paralogs of ERECTA, ERL1 and ERL2, are redundant with ERECTA in part of the signaling pathway. Loss of the entire ERECTA family in Arabidopsis leads to dwarfism, a decrease in lateral organ size, abnormal flower development and changes in stomatal patterning. The ERECTA pathway research focuses on identification of downstream components, the mechanism of receptor function, and control of the signaling pathway through the availability and amount of the ERECTA protein. A wide variety of methods are used in the lab, from whole plant morphology and cell biology to molecular biology, genetics, and biochemistry.

Contact Information

Elena Shpak
Molecular Genetics and Systems Biology
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Cellular & Molecular Biology

UT
F-431 Walters Life Sciences
Knoxville, TN 37996
Phone: (865) 974-8383

Email: eshpak@utk.edu

Degrees

PhD: Biochemistry - Ohio University, Athens

MS: Plant physiology - Moscow State University, Russia