Chan Group - Plant Organelle and Cellular Signalling
What do drought, high light, cold, and salt stresses, as well as pathogen infections and herbivore attacks have in common? They are all obviously harmful to the plant, but what's also fascinating is that they all induce a complex array of organelle and cellular signalling pathways within the plant cell, with unique and overlapping components that enable plants to respond to these perturbations.
Our research vision is to unravel the intersection of molecular and biochemical mechanisms in plant cells for adaptation to challenging environmental conditions. The insights gained into these fundamental mechanisms feed into applied projects to engineer climate-resilient plants and novel solutions for sustainable food production. Our research can be broadly categorised into three themes:
Theme 1 - The interface of organelle signalling and metabolism. We aim to understand how chloroplasts and mitochondria play dual functions in the plant cell as 1) metabolic hubs for photosynthesis and respiration respectively, and 2) environmental stress sensors for the cell by releasing a variety of distress signals upon perception of unfavourable conditions. This knowledge will help inform the engineering of climate-proof photosynthesis and respiration in our future crops. Current projects include:
-
Decrypting chloroplast signalling networks in C4 photosynthesis at cell type-resolution
-
Regulation of chloroplast redox metabolism via alternative splicing in the nucleus
Theme 2 - Integration of cellular signalling pathways and processes. We aim to unravel how diverse signals and processes within the plant cell are coordinated for the plant to respond appropriately to environmental changes. This understanding is important to safeguard crop growth and production in increasingly unpredictable environments in the future. Current projects include:
Theme 3 - Novel tools for synergistic interplay of fundamental and applied research. We utilise high-throughput chemical biology to develop novel compounds that target individual proteins or processes within the plant cell. For example, we have now developed a suite of compounds that precisely “turn on” a chloroplast signalling pathway to study its role in plant cells (fundamental knowledge); and to activate this signalling cascade in plant leaves to enhance drought tolerance in crops (applied outcome). Current projects include:
Group Leader
Technical Officer
Divisional Visitor
Honours Students
ARC DECRA Fellow
PhD Student
Technical Assistants
Learning the languages of the chloroplast: retrograde signaling and beyond KX Chan, SY Phua, P Crisp, R McQuinn, BJ Pogson Annual review of plant biology 67, 25-53 |
|
Balancing metabolites in drought: the sulfur assimilation conundrum KX Chan, M Wirtz, SY Phua, GM Estavillo, BJ Pogson Trends in Plant Science 18 (1), 18-29 |
|
KX Chan, PD Mabbitt, SY Phua, JW Mueller, N Nisar, T Gigolashvili, ... Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113 (31), E4567-E4576 |
|
JM Van Norman, J Zhang, CI Cazzonelli, BJ Pogson, PJ Harrison, ... Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111 (13), E1300-E1309 |
|
W Pornsiriwong, GM Estavillo, KX Chan, EE Tee, D Ganguly, PA Crisp, ... Elife 6, e23361 |
|
Evolution of chloroplast retrograde signaling facilitates green plant adaptation to land C Zhao, Y Wang, KX Chan, DB Marchant, PJ Franks, D Randall, EE Tee, ... Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116 (11), 5015-5020 |
|
Reconsidering the nature and mode of action of metabolite retrograde signals from the chloroplast GM Estavillo, KX Chan, SY Phua, BJ Pogson Frontiers in plant science 3, 300 |
|
KX Chan, PA Crisp, GM Estavillo, BJ Pogson Plant signaling & behavior 5 (12), 1575-1582 |
|
The Transcription Factor MYB29 Is a Regulator of ALTERNATIVE OXIDASE1a X Zhang, A Ivanova, K Vandepoele, J Radomiljac, J Van de Velde, ... Plant Physiology 173 (3), 1824-1843 |
|
A GDSL esterase/lipase catalyzes the esterification of lutein in bread wheat JL Watkins, M Li, RP McQuinn, KX Chan, HE McFarlane, M Ermakova, ... The Plant Cell 31 (12), 3092-3112 |
|
Secondary sulfur metabolism in cellular signalling and oxidative stress responses KX Chan, SY Phua, F Van Breusegem Journal of Experimental Botany 70 (16), 4237-4250 |
|
3′-Phosphoadenosine 5′-phosphate accumulation delays the circadian system S Litthauer, KX Chan, MA Jones Plant Physiology 176 (4), 3120-3135 |
|
Q Bruggeman, C Mazubert, F Prunier, R Lugan, KX Chan, SY Phua, ... Plant Physiology 170 (3), 1745-1756 |
|
SY Phua, D Yan, KX Chan, GM Estavillo, E Nambara, BJ Pogson Frontiers in plant science 9, 1171 |
|
Reactive oxygen species and organellar signaling SY Phua, B De Smet, C Remacle, KX Chan, F Van Breusegem Journal of Experimental Botany 72 (16), 5807-5824 |
|
SY Phua, W Pornsiriwong, KX Chan, GM Estavillo, BJ Pogson Plant direct 2 (1), e00031 |
|
N Ashykhmina, KX Chan, H Frerigmann, F Van Breusegem, S Kopriva, ... Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences 8 |
![](https://biology.anu.edu.au/files/styles/anu_narrow_200_100/public/Kai%20Chan%20profile.jpg?itok=frqHQ0-M)
Dr Kai Chan, Group Leader and ARC Decra Fellow awarded 2023 Westpac Research Fellowship
![](https://biology.anu.edu.au/files/styles/anu_narrow_200_100/public/Kai%2520Chan%2520Tall%2520Poppy_0.jpg?itok=xttgGjQ4)
Kai Chan wins ACT Young Tall Poppy science award
![](https://biology.anu.edu.au/files/styles/anu_narrow_200_100/public/Kai%2520Chen.jpg?itok=clQiQBO5)
Dr Kai Chan named 2017 ACT Scientist of the Year
![](https://biology.anu.edu.au/files/styles/anu_narrow_200_100/public/CPG.jpg?itok=08gRXsR6)