# NIH grant: Genome regulatory mechanisms mediating abscisic acid stress hormone response and stomatal aperture control in plants (1R35GM165596-01) — retained record

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[original source ↗](https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/1R35GM165596-01)

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NIH grant 1R35GM165596-01: Genome regulatory mechanisms mediating abscisic acid stress hormone response and stomatal aperture control in plants
Institute: {'code': 'GM', 'abbreviation': 'NIGMS', 'name': 'National Institute of General Medical Sciences', 'admin_org_id': '12500024', 'admin_funding_url': ''}. PI: Charles Anthony Seller. Award: $419296.
Start: 2026-07-10T00:00:00.
PROJECT SUMMARY
The focus of our research program is to understand how organisms coordinate gene and genome activity with
a changing and stressful environment. To support a stationary lifestyle, plants evolved sophisticated
mechanisms to adjust to environmental stresses including drought, a major challenge to agricultural
productivity both domestically and worldwide which negatively impacts human health and nutrition. In our lab,
we use the Arabidopsis thaliana guard cell as a model system for investigating the mechanisms that connect
environmental conditions to plant genome structure and activity. Guard cells are specialized cells that integrate
multiple environmental cues to optimally control the size of microscopic pores on the leaf surface known as
stomata. For example, changes in the concentration of the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA), a key regulator
of stress responses, and changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration are well known signals that trigger
adjustments in stomatal pore size. Stomatal regulation is essential for minimizing water loss while allowing CO2
uptake from the atmosphere for photosynthesis. This research will build on our prior discoveries to dissect the
molecular mechanisms underlying ABA-dependent chromatin remodeling and transcriptome reprogramming.
We will deploy a combination of cell-type specific genomics/proteomics assays and physiological studies to
investigate the role of transcriptional regulation in the stomatal adaptation to stress and subsequent stress
“memory” in plants. Our research will advance a model wherein disparate environmental signals are integrated
by gene regulation to optimize stomatal responses. Furthermore, we will explore how the exceptional changes
in the osmotic or turgor pressure of guard cells during stomatal movements regulate the structure and function
of chromatin in the nucleus. We anticipate that our discoveries will have fundamental significance to the study
of transcriptional control by the environment and provide new strategies to improve plant resilience to stress, a
topic of major relevance to agriculture and human nutrition.
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