Brad Binder

Brad Binder
Professor, BCMB

Office: Hesler 343, (865-974-7994)
Lab: Hesler 106, (865-974-7997)
Email: bbinder@utk.edu

Lab Website: http://binderlab.utk.edu/

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.

[out of 78 total]

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

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

Allen CJ^‡, Lacey RF^‡, Binder Bickford AB, Beshears CF, Gilmartin CJ, Binder BM (2019) Cyanobacteria Response to Low Levels of Ethylene. Frontiers in Plant Science 10: 950. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00950 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