Integrated Studies of Auxin, Light, and Seedling Morphogenesis

生长素、光和幼苗形态发生的综合研究

• 批准号: 0921071
• 负责人: Edgar Spalding
• 金额: $ 60万
• 依托单位: University of Wisconsin-Madison
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-01 至 2013-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0921071&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Integrated; Studies; Auxin; Light; Seedling

Edgar P. SpaldingIOS-0921071Integrated Studies of Auxin, Light, and Seedling MorphogenesisA critical phase in the life cycle of a plant is the few days during which the embryo within a seed transforms (develops) into a seedling capable of fending for itself. In agricultural settings, much of crop success depends on seedling establishment progressing robustly. The current project continues a line of research aimed at understanding how growth and development in the Arabidopsis thaliana plant is responsive to the environmental conditions pertaining as the seedling emerges through the soil. The cryptochrome photoreceptor protein is known to be responsible for detecting the light environment into which the seedling is emerging, and the plant growth hormone auxin is known to play a role as a key internal regulator of the processes that light triggers through cryptochrome. The project will focus on the molecular mechanisms that link the cryptochrome functions to the auxin functions. What is learned will deepen our understanding of how seedlings become productive plants and increase our understanding of the basic biology underpinning the processes by which humans obtain food, fiber and, increasingly, fuels. Also, because the molecules to be studied in the project all have human counterparts, what is learned could impact cancer and immunology research. For example, the auxin-transporting multidrug resistance molecule to be studied here is the plant equivalent of the MDR1 protein that causes cancer tumors to become resistant to chemotherapy. Plant MDR1 binds to the immunophilin-like molecule TWD1 to perform its function. In humans, immunophilins are the target of transplant rejection drugs. The chance for human-health related discoveries is significant. The computational tools developed to make the measurements of growth and development will be adapted to create dynamic, engaging devices to teach students at all levels about seedling developmental responses to the environment. A postdoctoral scientist and a graduate student will be trained in a unique combination of biological and computational techniques.

生长素、光和幼苗形态发生的综合研究植物生命周期中的一个关键阶段是种子内的胚胎发育成能够独立生长的幼苗的几天时间。在农业环境中，作物的成功在很大程度上取决于幼苗建立的稳健进展。目前的项目继续进行一系列研究，旨在了解拟南芥植物的生长和发育是如何对土壤中幼苗出现的环境条件做出反应的。众所周知，隐花色素光感受器蛋白负责检测幼苗生长的光环境，植物生长激素生长素在光通过隐花色素触发的过程中发挥关键的内部调节作用。本项目将重点研究隐色素功能与生长素功能之间的分子机制。所学到的东西将加深我们对幼苗如何成为多产植物的理解，并增加我们对人类获得食物、纤维和越来越多的燃料的基本生物学过程的理解。此外，由于该项目中研究的分子都有人类的对应分子，因此研究结果可能会影响癌症和免疫学研究。例如，这里要研究的生长素转运多药耐药分子是植物等效的MDR1蛋白，它导致癌症肿瘤对化疗产生耐药性。植物MDR1结合亲免疫蛋白样分子TWD1来发挥其功能。在人类中，亲免疫蛋白是移植排斥药物的靶标。人类健康相关发现的机会是巨大的。用于测量生长和发育的计算工具将被用于创建动态的、引人入胜的设备，以教授各级学生有关幼苗对环境的发育反应。一名博士后科学家和一名研究生将接受生物和计算技术独特结合的培训。