Lipid Signaling

Lipid-Mediated Stress Responses

Lipids have long been known to play an important role in mediating stress responses in living organisms. Our research focuses on understanding the conserved and functional role of ubiquitous eukaryotic lipids such as N-acylethanolamines (NAEs) in mediating development, growth and stress responses in plants, to ultimately improve crop productivity. In flowering plants, NAEs with only C12-C18 acyl chains are present and mediate abscisic acid (ABA)-dependent or -independent responses to stress. Interestingly, we identified an endocannabinoid receptor ligand, anandamide or NAE 20:4 and its precursors and products including NAE-oxylipins, in Physcomitrella patens . In animals, NAE 20:4 binds to cannabinoid receptor and influences a wide range of physiological and behavioral functions. We are specifically addressing the overarching question of how anandamide, a mammalian-NAE, might play a role in the development of moss and its ability to tolerate various stress responses.  This research is funded by National Science Foundation (Kilaru-NSF-1456917, 04/2015–03/2019)

NAE-mediated signaling research is an emerging field and has implications for both basic and applied aspects of science. We use comparative transcriptomics and lipidomics approaches to gain evolutionary insights into mechanisms that seedless, non-vascular plants have acquired and retained to modulate stress responses, which perhaps are lost in flowering plants. To this extent parallel studies with Selaginella, resurrection fern, Sorghum and tomato are also underway.