Biomedical subjects

Alice Harmon

Publications and source records attributed to Alice Harmon.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Plants, symbiosis and parasites: a calcium signalling connection.

A unique family of protein kinases has evolved with regulatory domains containing sequences that are related to Ca(2+)-binding EF-hands. In this family, the archetypal Ca(2+)-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) have been found in plants and some protists, including the malarial parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. Recent genetic evidence has revealed isoform-specific functions for a CDPK that is essential for Plasmodium berghei gametogenesis, and for a related chimeric Ca(2+) and calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CCaMK) that is essential to the formation of symbiotic nitrogen-fixing nodules in plants. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the analysis of 42 isoforms of CDPK and related kinases is expected to delineate Ca(2+) signalling pathways in all aspects of plant biology.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Decoding Ca(2+) signals through plant protein kinases.

Plants harbor four families of kinases that have been implicated in Ca(2+) signaling (CDPKs, CRKs, CCaMKs, and SnRK3s). Although each family appears to respond to Ca(2+) via different mechanisms, they all utilize Ca(2+) sensors that bind Ca(2+) through multiple EF-hands. The CDPK (Ca(2+)-dependent protein kinase) family is represented by the most genes, with 12 subfamilies comprised of 34 isoforms in Arabidopsis and 27 in rice. Some of the calcium-regulated kinases also show potential for regulation by lipid signals and kinase cascades. Thus, Ca(2+)-regulated kinases provide potential nodes of cross-talk for multiple signaling pathways that integrate Ca(2+) signals into all aspects of plant growth and development.

Arabidopsis↗