Jessica Cárdenas

My research focus on better understanding the molecular mechanism of GA signaling during plant development.   Unlike other phytohormones, Gibberellins (GA), a family of tetracyclic diterpenoid molecule, promotes numerous developmental processes of agronomic important including seed germination, the transition to flowering, and growth via increased cell division and elongation. The major GA response pathway relies on the degradation of a nuclear-localized negative transcriptional regulator known as DELLA by GA-activated GIBBERELLIN-INSENSTIVE DWARF1 (GID1) receptors. However, in the last decade, recent studies have demonstrated that GA-independent pathways exist for the degradation of DELLA, possibly through the interaction of GID1 with other regulatory proteins. We recently identified PUX1 (plant UBX domain-containing protein 1), a CDC48 (Cell Division Cycle 48) regulating protein in Arabidopsis, as a GID1-interacting partner, suggesting that PUX1 plays a role in GA hormone signaling.

Education

2013- 2021                        Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison

2009-2013                        Bachelor’s Degree in Biochemistry, Mount St. Mary’s University

Selected Fellowships

2018 – 2019                      William H. Peterson Fellowship, Department of Biochemistry, UW-Madison

2018                                      FASEB Postdoctoral Preparation Institute Travel Award, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

2015-2019                           National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), NSF

2016                                      Travel Award to attend Annual Plant Biology Meeting, Department of Biochemistry, UW-Madison

Publications

1. Hauvermale A*, Cárdenas JJ*, Steber C, Bednarek SY. Gibberellin Signaling Expands to Include the UBX Domain Protein PUX1, a New Binding Partner for GID1 (submitted)
2. Dahhan DA, Reynolds GD, Cárdenas JJ, Eeckhout D, Johnson A, Yperman K, Kaufmann WA, Vang N, Yan X, Hwang I, Heese A, De Jaeger G, Friml J, Van Damme D, Pan J, Bednarek SY. (2021) Proteomic characterization of isolated Arabidopsis clathrin-coated vesicles reveals evolutionarily conserved and plant specific components. bioRxiv, doi 10.1101/2021.09.16.460678.
3. Mayers JR, Hu T, Wang C, Cardenas JJ, Tan Y, Pan J, Bednarek SY. (2017) SCD1 and SCD2 form a complex that functions with the exocyst and RabE1 in exocytosis and cytokinesis. The plant cell, 29 (10) 2610-2625.
4. Sarkissyan S, Sarkissyan M, Wu Y, Cardenas JJ, Koeffler PH, Vadgama JV. (2014) IGF-1 regulates Cyr61 induced breast cancer cell proliferation and invasion. PLoS One, 9(7): e103534.

* denotes equal contribution

Past time: Playing volleyball (sand or indoor), reading, cooking, doing puzzles, and chasing my toddler around.

Other links: ORCID profile @ 0000-0001-5369-5238