CAREER: Plant Organ Size and Identity Controlled By Brassinosteroids

该职业项目开发了一项关于分析玉米中植物类固醇活性的研究和教育计划。操纵植物结构是提高作物产量的最有效途径。传统育种通过株高、分枝和性别决定等性状提高产量。一类被称为油菜素类固醇(BRs)的植物类固醇激素最近被确定为生长调节剂，它们在细胞分裂和伸长过程中发挥着重要作用。它们对果实形成、叶片发育、结实和萌发等发育过程也很重要。该项目的长期目标是分析BRS在玉米植株生长和性别决定中的作用。玉米是唯一适合研究性别决定和植物结构的对象，因为在同一植株上形成雄花(分蘖)和雌花(穗)的单性花，并且通过育种将茎的结构改变为主要不分枝的中央茎。利用玉米研究界的资源和普渡大学产生的植物材料的遗传方法可以表征BR生物合成突变体及其信号网络。该项目整合了遗传、基因组和细胞方法，以研究玉米中植物激素反应的网络。了解控制植物生长和分化的主要调控过程，可以在重要作物中操纵所需的特征，以改善食品、饲料和生物燃料的生产。这一职业奖的另一个目标是提高未来科学家的沟通技能，这对于公众理解和接受往往复杂的科学过程和结果是必不可少的。该教育计划将开发一个由十个部分组成的“数字植物科学图书馆”，用于支持本科生的正规课堂学习。它还被设计为初中生和高中生的招聘工具，以及非正式学习的工具。这项活动将为植物科学的交流和学习开辟新的途径，并总体上提高科学素养。通过这项活动，学生将在传统课程之外的领域获得独特的专业知识。

The CAREER project develops a research and educational program on the analysis of plant steroid activity in maize. Manipulation of plant architecture is the most effective way to improve yield in crops. Traditional breeding has increased yield through traits such as plant height, branching and sex determination. A class of plant steroid hormones called brassinosteroids (BRs) has recently been identified as growth regulators, which play an important role in cell division and elongation. They are also important for developmental processes such as fruit formation, leaf development, seed set, and germination. The long-term goal of this project is to analyze the role of BRs on plant growth and sex determination in maize. Maize is a uniquely suited object for investigations of sex determination and plant architecture as unisexual flowers of male (tiller) and female (ear) sex are formed on the same plant and the stem architecture has been changed through breeding to a mainly unbranched central stem. A genetic approach employing resources from the maize research community as well as plant material generated at Purdue University allows the characterization of BR biosynthesis mutants and their signaling network. This project integrates genetic, genomic, and cellular approaches to investigate the network of phytohormone responses in maize. Understanding the main regulatory processes that control plant growth and differentiation allows the manipulation of desired traits in important crops, to improve food, feed and biofuel production.Another goal of this CAREER award is to improve the communication skills of future scientists, which is essential for public understanding and acceptance of often-complicated scientific processes and results. The educational plan will develop a ten-part "Digital Plant Science Library", which will be used to support formal classroom learning of undergraduate students. It is also designed to serve as recruiting tool for middle and high school students and for informal learning. This activity will open up new paths for communicating and learning about plant science and increasing scientific literacy in general. Through this activity, students will gain a unique expertise in fields not part of their traditional curricula.