MSL Seminar Series: April – Invited Speaker, Dr. Sheng Luan

Invited Speaker: Dr. Sheng Luan: Chancellor’s Professor and Chair, Department of Plant & Microbial Biology – University of California, Berkeley

This seminar will be presented in a hybrid format. Audience members are welcome to attend either in person at the MSL lecture theatre (room 102) or via the zoom link. Those connecting via zoom will be able to ask questions during the Q&A portion using the chat function.

Zoom registration link: https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5cpdOqvpjMsHdV5FzZKkLRqfz2HILGRsaqD

Title title: Regulation of nutrient homeostasis by a calcium signaling network

Abstract: Plants are growing in a nutrient-poor environment in nature. Agricultural production is heavily relying on the application of chemical fertilizers, imposing a serious economic and environmental problem worldwide. One solution would be to breed crops that can tolerate low-nutrient soils to reduce the reliance on fertilizers. Work in Luan laboratory identified a CBL-CIPK signaling pathway that regulates the activity of a voltage-gated potassium channel involved in K-uptake in plant roots and another CBL-CIPK pathway for vacuolar K remobilization. Manipulation of CBL-CIPK network can potentially enhance the growth of plants under low-K soils, supporting sustainable agriculture and environment. The CBL-CIPK network has become a major signaling mechanism for the regulation of mineral nutrition by targeting transporters in various subcellular locations.