Control of Storage Protein Biosynthesis by mRNA Targeting

植物种子被用作食物来源和生产生物能源的原料。随着世界人口预计到2050年将超过90亿人，将不得不生产比以往任何时候都更多的粮食。虽然人们在理解种子基因在种子发育过程中如何在细胞核中受到调控方面做了大量的工作，但对控制其RNA在细胞质中表达的细胞事件知之甚少。该实验室以前的努力已经证明，种子RNA在离开细胞核时不会立即转化为蛋白质。相反，它们形成大颗粒，沿着几种不同的路径运输到皮质区域，皮质区域位于质膜下面，非常有利于蛋白质合成。在这个项目中，将采用一种综合的分子、遗传和细胞成像方法来阐明RNA运输和定位的三个广泛领域。它们是：(1)识别由一条运输途径定位的RNA物种；(2)鉴定和表征特定的RNA结合蛋白如何相互作用识别其靶RNA并将其引导到特定的RNA运输途径；(3)确定膜相关蛋白在RNA运输中的作用。这项研究将为RNA和蛋白质如何在植物细胞中定位和积累提供新的见解。此外，它可能导致对控制碳和氮的利用及其转化为储存储备的机制的新见解，从而有助于努力提高种子质量和作物生产率。该项目将培训博士后、研究生和本科阶段的年轻科学家，为这些年轻科学家提供国际研究的机会，并将加强正在进行的国际合作研究，以增加食品和能源的种子产量。

Plant seeds are used as a source of food and as a feedstock for the production of bioenergy. As the world population is projected to surpass 9 billion people by 2050, more food will have to be produced than ever before. Although considerable effort has been directed at understanding how seed genes are regulated in the nucleus during seed development, very little is known about the cellular events that control the expression of their RNAs in the cytoplasm. Previous efforts from this laboratory have demonstrated that seed RNAs are not immediately translated into protein when they exit the nucleus. Instead, they form large particles which are transported along several different pathways to the cortical region, a site located underneath the plasma membrane and highly conducive for protein synthesis. In this project, an integrated molecular, genetic and cell imaging approach will be undertaken to elucidate three broad areas of RNA transport and localization. They are (1) to identify the RNA species, which are localized by one of the transport pathways, (2) to identify and characterize how specific RNA binding proteins interact to recognize their target RNAs and direct them to a specific RNA transport pathway, and (3) to determine the role of membrane-associated proteins in RNA transport. This study will provide new insights in how RNAs and, in turn, proteins are localized and accumulated in plant cells. Moreover, it may lead to new insights into the mechanisms that control the utilization of carbon and nitrogen and their conversion into storage reserves and, thereby, aid in efforts to increase seed quality and crop productivity. The project will train young scientists at the postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate levels, will provide these younger scientists the opportunity for international research, and will strengthen an ongoing international collaborative study to increase seed production for food and energy.