Zhen-Ming Pei, Associate Professor of Biology

Contact Info:

Office Location:	3102 FFSC
Office Phone:	(919) 613-8152
Email Address:

Teaching (Fall 2024):

• BIOLOGY 412S.01, SENSORY SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION Synopsis

  Bio Sci 155, Th 04:40 PM-07:10 PM

Education:

Ph.D.	Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology (China)	1993
M.S.	Fudan University (China)	1990
B.S.	Lanzhou University (China)	1985

Specialties:

Cell and Molecular Biology
Genetics
Developmental Biology
Biophysics
Genomics

Research Interests: Plant Sensory Signal Transduction

Current projects: External calcium and nitric oxide signaling in Arabidopsis

My laboratory is interested in the early signaling events by which plants sense environmental signals and decode to give the appropriate responses. Upon perception of external signals, cell surface receptors trigger an increase in cytosolic free calcium concentration, which is mediated by ion channels. Our long-term goals are to identify these receptors and ion channels, isolate their interacting components, and assign molecular functions to them. Currently, we are using multidisciplinary approaches of biophysics, biochemistry, cell biology, molecular genetics, and function genomics to dissect the signaling cascades of external calcium as well as nitric oxide in the model plant Arabidopsis.

Areas of Interest:

Calcium-mediated sensory process
Nitric oxide signaling
ABA signaling
Guard cell biology
Electrophysiology

Keywords:

Acid Rain • Aequorin • Amino Acid Sequence • Aminobutyrates • Animals • Arabidopsis • Arabidopsis Proteins • Avicennia • Calcium • Calcium Signaling • Carrier Proteins • Cell Line • Cell Membrane • Choanoflagellata • Circadian Rhythm • Cloning, Molecular • DNA-Binding Proteins • Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional • Flowers • Gene Expression Profiling • Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant • Genes, Plant • HEK293 Cells • Homeostasis • Humans • Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate • Ion Transport • Luminescence • Membrane Proteins • Models, Chemical • Molecular Sequence Data • Mutation • Nitric Oxide • Nitric Oxide Donors • Nitroprusside • Osmotic Pressure • Photoperiod • Phylogeny • Plant Leaves • Plant Roots • Plant Shoots • Plant Transpiration • Protein Transport • Proteome • Proteomics • Proton-Translocating ATPases • Receptors, Calcium-Sensing • Receptors, Cell Surface • RNA, Messenger • Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins • Sequence Alignment • Signal Transduction • Sodium • Sodium Chloride • Sodium-Hydrogen Antiporter • Soil • Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization • Stress, Physiological • Transcription • Water

Current Ph.D. Students   (Former Students)

Postdocs Mentored

• Ruhang Tang (February 30, 2002 to July 12, 2005)  
• Yikun He (Jan 18, 2002 to Jun 28, 2003)  
• Yangzhou Liu (2001/01-2001/05)  

Representative Publications   (More Publications)   (search)

1. Tang, R-H; Han, S; Zheng, H; Cook, CW; Choi, CS; Woerner, TE; Jackson, RB; Pei, Z-M, Coupling diurnal cytosolic Ca2+ oscillations to the CAS-IP3 pathway in Arabidopsis., Science (New York, N.Y.), vol. 315 no. 5817 (March, 2007), pp. 1423-1426 [17347443], [doi]  [abs]
2. Pei, ZM; Kuchitsu, K, Early ABA signaling events in guard cells, Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, vol. 24 no. 4 (December, 2005), pp. 296-307, Springer Nature, ISSN 0721-7595 [pdf], [doi]  [abs]
3. He, Y; Tang, R-H; Hao, Y; Stevens, RD; Cook, CW; Ahn, SM; Jing, L; Yang, Z; Chen, L; Guo, F; Fiorani, F; Jackson, RB; Crawford, NM; Pei, Z-M, Nitric oxide represses the Arabidopsis floral transition., Science, vol. 305 no. 5692 (September, 2004), pp. 1968-1971 [15448272], [doi]  [abs]
4. Han, S; Tang, R; Anderson, LK; Woerner, TE; Pei, Z-M, A cell surface receptor mediates extracellular Ca(2+) sensing in guard cells., Nature, vol. 425 no. 6954 (September, 2003), pp. 196-200 [12968184], [doi]  [abs]
5. Pei, ZM; Murata, Y; Benning, G; Thomine, S; Klüsener, B; Allen, GJ; Grill, E; Schroeder, JI, Calcium channels activated by hydrogen peroxide mediate abscisic acid signalling in guard cells., Nature, vol. 406 no. 6797 (August, 2000), pp. 731-734 [pdf], [doi]  [abs]
6. Pei, ZM; Baizabal-Aguirre, VM; Allen, GJ; Schroeder, JI, A transient outward-rectifying K⁺ channel current down-regulated by cytosolic Ca²⁺ in Arabidopsis thaliana guard cells, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 95 no. 11 (May, 1998), pp. 6548-6553, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, ISSN 0027-8424 [pdf], [doi]  [abs]
7. Pei, ZM; Ghassemian, M; Kwak, CM; McCourt, P; Schroeder, JI, Role of farnesyltransferase in ABA regulation of guard cell anion channels and plant water loss., Science (New York, N.Y.), vol. 282 no. 5387 (October, 1998), pp. 287-290, ISSN 0036-8075 [pdf], [doi]  [abs]
8. Pei, ZM; Kuchitsu, K; Ward, JM; Schwarz, M; Schroeder, JI, Differential abscisic acid regulation of guard cell slow anion channels in Arabidopsis wild-type and abi1 and abi2 mutants., The Plant cell, vol. 9 no. 3 (Spring, 1997), pp. 409-423, ISSN 1040-4651 [pdf], [doi]  [abs]
9. Pei, ZM; Ward, JM; Harper, JF; Schroeder, JI, A novel chloride channel in Vicia faba guard cell vacuoles activated by the serine/threonine kinase, CDPK., The EMBO journal, vol. 15 no. 23 (December, 1996), pp. 6564-6574, ISSN 0261-4189 [picrender.fcgi], [doi]  [abs]