Ph.D. Neurosciences Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison

A characteristic of living organisms is that they respond to the environment. My lab studies the mechanisms of signal transduction for ethylene. Ethylene was the first gaseous signaling molecule discovered and is well-known as a hormone in plants where it regulates and influences many critical physiological and developmental processes such as fruit ripening. Ethylene is the underlying cause for the saying: one bad apple spoils the bunch. To understand ethylene signaling in plants, my lab primarily focuses on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. To pursue this research, we combine biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, chemistry, modeling, and physiology. This multifaceted approach is allowing us to gain a better understanding about the mechanisms of ethylene signaling and crosstalk with other pathways.

In contrast to plants, little is known about the role of ethylene in other organisms. Analysis of sequenced bacterial genomes has shown that many contain putative ethylene receptors. Therefore, we are studying the effects of ethylene on these species and the role of these receptors in bacteria. For more details about my research visit my Lab Page.

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(underlined undergraduates/high school students, ^‡Graduate students, ^‡‡Postdocs)

Brenya E^‡‡, Dutta E^‡, Herron B, Walden LH, Roberts DM, and Binder BM. (2023) Ethylene-Mediated Metabolic Priming Increases Photosynthesis and Metabolism to Enhance Plant Growth and Stress Tolerance. PNAS-Nexus doi: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad216 Article

Binder BM (2020) Ethylene signaling in plants. Invited review in Journal of Biological Chemistry 295: 7710-7725. Article

Bakshi A^‡, Piya S, Fernandez JC, Chervin C, Hewezi T, Binder BM (2018) Ethylene Receptors Signal Via a Non-canonical Pathway to Regulate Abscisic Acid Responses. Plant Physiology 176: 910-929. Article

Lacey RL^‡, Binder BM (2016) Ethylene Regulates the Physiology of the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 via an Ethylene Receptor. Plant Physiology 171: 2798-2809. Article

McDaniel BK^‡, Binder, BM (2012) ETHYLENE RECEPTOR1 (ETR1) Is Sufficient and has the Predominant Role in Mediating Inhibition of Ethylene Responses by Silver in Arabidopsis thaliana. Journal of Biological Chemistry 287: 26094-26103. Article

Rodriguez F, Esch J, Hall A, Binder BM, Schaller GE, Bleecker AB (1999) A Copper Cofactor for the ETR1 Receptor from Arabidopsis. Science 283: 996-998. Article

Pubmed List of Papers