Ted Powers
Professor
erpowers@ucdavis.edu

Molecular & Cellular Biology

Office
220C Briggs Hall
(530)754-5052

Lab
(530) 754-5048


Picture of Ted Powers
 
Degrees:
1992 PhD University of California, Santa Cruz Biology
1985 BA University of California, Santa Cruz Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research Interests:

Mechanisms that regulate cell growth in the model eukaryote, the budding yeast S. cerevisiae, with emphasis on the TOR (target of rapamycin) signal transduction pathway. We are particularly interested in how this pathway regulates gene expression in response to intracellular as well as environmental cues.
http://www.mcb.ucdavis.edu/faculty-labs/powers/

Awards:
2005-2006 UCD Chancellor's Fellow
2003 Outstanding Teaching Award, UCD BMB Graduate Group
Department and Center Affiliations:
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Biological Sciences
UC Davis Cancer Center
Professional Societies:
American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)
American Society for Biochemistry and Moleculary Biology (ASBMB)
CBS Graduate Group Affiliations:
Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology  
Graduate Groups not Housed in CBS:
Microbiology  
Publications:
  • Powers, T. (2008) Cell growth control: mTOR takes on fat. Mol. Cell 31, 775-776
  • Aronova, S., Wedaman, K., Aronov, P.A., Fontes, K., Ramos, K., Hammock, B.D., and Powers, T. (2008) Regulation of ceramide biosynthesis by TOR Complex 2. Cell Metabolism 7, 148-158.
  • Powers, T. (2007) TOR Signaling and S6 Kinase 1: Yeast Catches Up. Cell Metabolism 6, 1-2.
  • Aronova, S., Wedaman, K.P., Anderson, S., Yates, J. III, and Powers, T. (2007) Probing the membrane environment of the TOR kinases reveals functional interactions between TORC1, actin, and membrane trafficking in S. cerevisae. Mol. Biol. Cell 18, 2779-2794.
  • Martin, D.E., Powers, T., and Hall, M.N. (2006) Regulation of ribosome biogenesis; Where is TOR? Cell Metabolism 4, 259-260.
  • Reinke, A., Chen, J.C.-Y., Aronova, S., and Powers, T. (2006) Caffeine targets TOR complex I and provides evidence for a regulatory link between the FRB and kinase domains of Tor1p. J. Biol. Chem. 281, 31616-31626.
  • Chen, C.-Y. & Powers, T. (2006) Coordinate regulation of multiple and distinct biosynthetic pathways by TOR and PKA kinases in S. cerevisiae. Current Genetics 49, 281-293
  • Dilova, I. & Powers, T. (2006) Accounting for strain-specific differences during RTG target gene regulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. FEMS Yeast Research Jan 6(1):112-9.
  • Powers, T. (2004) Ribosome biogenesis: Giant steps for a giant problem. Cell 119, 901-902.
  • Powers T, Dilova I, Chen CY, Wedaman K (2004) Yeast TOR signaling: a mechanism for metabolic regulation. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 279, 39-51
  • Powers, T., Chen, C.-Y., Dilova, D., Reinke, A., and Wedaman, K.P. (2004) Tor-signaling and Tor-interacting proteins in yeast. Topics in Current Genetics 7, 201-223.
  • Dilova, I., Aronova, S., Chen, J. C.-Y., and Powers, T. (2004) Tor signaling and nutrient-based signals converge on Mks1p phosphorylation to regulate expression of Rtg1p/Rtg3p-dependent genes. J. Biol. Chem 279, 46527-46535.
  • Reinke A, Anderson S, McCaffery JM, Yates J 3rd, Aronova S, Chu S, Fairclough S, Iverson C, Wedaman KP, Powers T. (2004) TOR complex 1 (TORC1) includes a novel component, Tco89p (YPL180w), and cooperates with Ssd1p to maintain cellular integrity in S. cerevisiae. J. Biol. Chem 279, 14752-14672
  • Wedaman, K.P., Reinke, A., Anderson, S., Yates, J. III, McCaffery, J.M., and Powers, T. (2003) The Tor kinases are in distinct membrane associated protein complexes in S. cerevisiae. Mol. Biol. Cell 14, 1204-1220
  • Crespo, J.L., Powers, T., Fowler, B., and Hall, M.N. (2002) The TOR controlled transcription activators GLN3, RTG1 and RTG3 are regulated in response to intracellular levels of glutamine. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99, 6784-6789.
  • Dilova, I., Chen, C.-Y., and Powers, T. (2002). Mks1 in concert with TOR signaling negatively regulates RTG target gene expression in S. cerevisiae. Curr. Biol. 12, 389-395.
  • Komeili, A., Wedaman, K. P., O'Shea, E. K., and Powers, T. (2000). Mechanism of metabolic control: target of rapamycin signaling links nitrogen quality to the activity of the Rtg1 and Rtg3 transcription factors. J. Cell Biol. 151, 863-878.
  • Powers, T. and Walter, P. (1999) Regulation of ribosome biogenesis by the rapamycin-sensitive TOR signaling pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mol. Biol. Cell 10, 987-1000.
Laboratory Personnel:
220 & 224 Briggs Hall



Teaching Interests:
Molecular Genetics & Cell Biology, with emphasis on the molecular mechanisms that govern gene expression and intracellular signaling
Courses:
MCB 161 Molecular Genetics Winter
MCB 221C Molecular Biology Spring
MCB 221D Cell Biology Winter