Protein Phosphatases and Stress Management in Plants

Girdhar K. Pandey received his B.Sc. (Hon.) in Biochemistry from Delhi University in 1992 and M.Sc. in Biotechnology in year 1994 from Banaras Hindu University (BHU). Subsequently, he joined Ph.D. in the School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and worked in the field of calcium signal transduction under abiotic stresses in plants.  He was awarded the Ph.D. degree in year 1999 and then pursued post-doctoral career at Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California at Berkeley in the year, 2000. There, he extended his work in the field of calcium mediated signaling in Arabidopsis by studying CBL-CIPKs, phosphatases, channels/transporters, and transcription factors involved in abiotic stresses. Currently, he is working as Professor in the Department of Plant Molecular Biology, Delhi University South Campus. Pandey’s research interests involve detail mechanistic interplay of signal transduction networks in plant under mineral nutrient deficiency (mostly potassium, calcium and nitrate) and abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity and oxidative stresses induced by heavy metals. His laboratory is working on the coding and decoding of mineral nutrient deficiency and abiotic stress signals by studying several signaling components such as calcium sensors such as calcineurin B-like (CBL) and CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPK), phosphatases (mainly PP2C and DSP), transcription factors (AP2-domain containing or ERF, WRKY), transporters and channels proteins (potassium and calcium channels/transporters) in both Arabidopsis and rice. The long-term goal of his research group is to establish the mechanistic interplay and cross talk of mineral nutrient deficient conditions and different abiotic stress signaling cascades in Arabidopsis and rice model system by using the advance tools of bio-informatics, genetics, cell biology, biochemistry and physiology with greater emphasis on functionalgenomics approaches.

• 1. SLP1 and SLP2: Ancient Chloroplast and Mitochondrial Protein Phosphatases.- 2. Phosphoprotein Phosphatase Function of Secreted Purple Acid Phosphatases.- 3. Purple Acid Phosphatases (PAPs): Molecular Regulation and Diverse Physiological roles in Plants.- 4. Role of serine/threonine phosphatase PP2A class and its regulators in salinity stress tolerance in plants.- 5. TYPE 2C PROTEIN PHOSPHATASES IN PLANT SIGNALING PATHWAYS UNDER ABIOTIC STRESS.- 6. Plant Protein Phosphatase 2C: Critical Negative Regulator of ABA Signaling.- 7. Protein phosphatases at the interface of sugar and hormone signaling pathways to balance growth and stress responses in plants.- 8. Protein Phosphatases in Guard Cells: Key Role in Stomatal Closure and Opening.- 9. Deciphering the roles of protein phosphatases in the regulation of salt-induced signaling responses in plants.- 10. Phosphatases -the critical regulator of abiotic stress tolerance in plants.- 11. Role of protein phosphatases in signaling, potassium transport, and abiotic stress responses.- 12. Protein phosphatases in N response and NUE in crops.- 13. Protein phosphatases of cereals and millets: Identification, structural organization and their involvement in regulation of abiotic stresses.- 14. Interlay of Protein Phosphatases with Cytoskeleton Signaling in Response to Stress Factors in Plants.- 15. Protein Phosphatase mediated responses in plant host-pathogen interactions.- 16. Role of dual specificity phosphatase in stress and starch metabolism.- 17. Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases: Implications in regulation of stress responses in plants.