Understanding the Link Between Sterol Pathway Regulation and Tissue Differentiation

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案(公共法律111-15)资助的。智力价值：植物中的植物甾醇具有基本功能，并用于人体营养以降低血液胆固醇水平。它们是植物和其他高等生物细胞膜的重要结构成分，衍生的类固醇具有重要的类脂激素功能。在了解参与植物甾醇生物合成的单个酶的性质方面已经取得了相当大的进展。然而，由于类固醇途径的复杂性，目前对其调控的了解仍然是零散的。这项拟议的研究将把数学建模与实验工作结合起来，以揭示类固醇代谢途径的调节复杂性。这项研究的总体目标是全面了解植物固醇生物合成的调节，并评估这些发现与植物发育中固醇功能的相关性。对类固醇途径的调控是理解植物发育和对环境反应的许多不同方面所不可或缺的。这些结果将为未来以操纵固醇生物合成为目标的分子育种和代谢工程努力提供实验资源。开发的数学模型将提供给科学界，以促进新兴代谢工程领域的研究。更广泛的影响：将为博士后研究员、研究生和本科生提供数学建模、分析化学、代谢组学和植物分子生物学、生理学和遗传学方面的跨学科培训。作为MJ Murdock代谢组学实验室的主任，PI将向K-12学生、教师和普通公众提供关于高端分析化学在社会中的当前使用的宣传。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-15).Intellectual Merit: Phytosterols have essential functions in plants and are used in human nutrition to lower blood cholesterol levels. They are important structural components of the cell membrane in plants and other higher organisms, and the derived steroids have vital functions as lipid hormones. Considerable progress has been made with regard to understanding the properties of individual enzymes involved in plant sterol biosynthesis. However, due to the complexity of the sterol pathway, current knowledge of its regulation is still fragmentary. The proposed research will combine mathematical modeling with experimental work to unravel the regulatory complexity of the sterol metabolic pathway. The overall goal of the research is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the regulation of plant sterol biosynthesis and to assess the relevance of these findings to sterol function in plant development. The regulation of sterol pathway regulation is integral to the understanding of many different aspects of plant development and responses to the environment. Results will provide experimental resources to enable future molecular breeding and metabolic engineering efforts targeted at manipulating sterol biosynthesis. The mathematical models developed will be made available to the scientific community to advance research in the emerging field of metabolic engineering.Broader Impacts: Cross-disciplinary training will be provided for postdoctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students in mathematical modeling, analytical chemistry, metabolomics and plant molecular biology, physiology and genetics. As director of the MJ Murdock Metabolomics Laboratory the PI will provide outreach to K-12 students, teachers and the general public on the current uses of high end analytical chemistry in society.