Abstract: Plants respond to abiotic stressors by adjusting internal resources to maintain growth while mobilizing defense mechanisms. A better understanding of the mechanisms involved in these responses may help to improve plant growth and fitness under rapid environmental changes. Studying single cells is better suited than multicellular plants to study such complex questions in order to reduce the number of interactions involved in abiotic responses. Our research has thus focused on the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as a model for plant biochemistry. The response of Chlamydomonas to Methyljasmonate treatment and to different levels of nitrogen deprivation was studied in time-courses for both metabolites and proteins. We show that Chlamydononas has an intact and functional MeJa response pathway that shows cross-talk to the salicylate pathway. We also show that lipid up-regulation, and not carbon/nitrogen balance pathways, are the first to respond to nitrogen stress, pointing to potential use in biofuel applications.


SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY:

Prof. Oliver Fiehn received his Ph.D. degree from the Technical University Berlin in 1997. He then continued his scientific career as an Associate Research Scientist in metabolomics at the Max-Planck-Inst. Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam, and after two years as postdoc he became a group leader to establish metabolomics at Max Planck (equivalent to Assistant Professor). He joined UC Davis in 2004 and has recently been promoted to Full Professor in the Genome Center at UC Davis. Dr Fiehn serves on the board of directors of the Metabolomics Society, and is editorial board member of many peer-reviewed publications, such as Plant Methods, Journal of Biological Chemistry, and Metabolomics. The Fiehn research laboratory develops improved methods in analytical chemistry and bioinformatics to capture and utilize metabolomic data. These tools are employed to understand, which parts of larger biochemical networks respond to genetic perturbation or environmental stress. Currently, the Fiehn laboratory holds mass spectra, retention indices, structures and links to external metabolic databases for 1,013 identified compounds which are routinely screened by gas chromatography – time of flight mass spectrometry and nanoelectrospray ion trap MS.  
 
We look forward to seeing you there!
 
Your BAMS Executive Team

Meeting details

Date:	Tuesday	May 5th, 2009
Time:	5:45 pm	Social hour, registration (no-host cocktails)
	6:30 pm	Dinner
	7:00 pm	Presentation
Dinner:	featuring:	Dinner selections are A)  Broiled Salmon Champagne Sauce..   B) Roast New Your Strip Steak.   C) Vegetarian Pasta.
Cost:	$30	BAMS members*
	$40	Non-members
	$60	BAMS membership plus dinner cost
	$20	Students only
	$300	2009 Corporate Sponsors
		Dinner reservations required by 6:00 PM, Friday the 1st of May, 2009

*Note:  BAMS memberships are for the calendar year and should be renewed with the first event you attend in 2009.  Dues ($30.00) may be paid while registering for dinner.  If you are unsure of your Membership status, please email Tom Slyker.

Basque Cultural Center
599 Railroad Ave
South San Francisco, CA 94080 

Google Map to Basque Cultural Center
Restaurant Phone: (650) 583-8091