Areas of Interest: Plant hormone regulation, regulation of protein degradation in plant cells, nanoparticle plant interactions

My lab studies the functions of the ubiquitin (Ub)/26S proteasome proteolytic pathway in the developmental and stress response pathways of Arabidopsis thaliana. The Ub/26S proteasome pathway is essential for cellular housekeeping as well as regulation. Its housekeeping and stress-defense functions involve the proteolysis of misfolded proteins, products of mistranslation and stress-induced damage that are highly toxic for the cell and need to be detected and removed rapidly. The regulatory functions of the Ub/26S proteasome pathway are based on the conditional degradation of activator and repressor proteins of various signal transduction systems. In response to external or internal stimuli, many regulatory proteins undergo posttranslational modifications that either prevent or trigger their attachment to Ub, leading to their stabilization or accelerated degradation by the proteasome.

Experience

1988–1989: Research Assistant, Laboratory of Genetics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

1989–1991: Visiting Fellow, Department of Molecular Biology, Harvard University, Boston,MA.

1991–1998: Research Assistant, Laboratory of Genetics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

1998–2004: Research Associate with Dr. Richard Vierstra, Laboratory of Genetics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI.

2004-2010: Assistant Professor, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.

2010: Associate Professor, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.

Recent Peer-Reviewed Publications

T. E. Shull, J. Kurepa and J. Smalle (2016). Cytokinin signaling promotes differential stability of type-B ARRs. Plant Signaling & Behavior 11(4).

J. Kurepa, Y. Li and J. Smalle (2014). Cytokinin signaling stabilizes the response activator ARR1. The Plant Journal 78, 157-168.

J. Kurepa, Y. Li, S.E. Perry and J. Smalle (2014). Ectopic expression of the phosphomimic mutant version of Arabidopsis response regulator 1 promotes a constitutive cytokinin response phenotype. BMC Plant Biology 14: 28.

J. Kurepa, R. Nakabayashi, T. Paunesku, M. Suzuki, K. Saito, G.E. Woloschak and J. Smalle (2014). Direct isolation of flavonoids from plants using ultra-small anatase TiO2 nanoparticles. The Plant Journal 77, 443-453.