RUI: The molecular basis of ethylene regulation of photoperiodic floral induction in plants

RUI：乙烯调节植物光周期花诱导的分子基础

• 批准号: 1061750
• 负责人: Alison Fisher
• 金额: $ 7.82万
• 依托单位: Willamette University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-08-04 至 2013-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1061750&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; molecular; basis; ethylene; regulation

As organisms permanently attached to one location in the ground, plants have developed mechanisms to sense environmental conditions and respond appropriately. For example, many plants use photoperiod, or the relative length of light and dark periods in a 24-hour day, to determine whether impending environmental conditions are favorable and thus regulate the onset of flowering. The molecular mechanisms by which photoperiod regulates the onset of flowering in plants are not fully understood. This project uses Japanese morning glory plants to investigate whether the plant hormone ethylene is involved in regulating plant flowering time in response to photoperiod. Ethylene has well-established roles in many developmental processes in plants, including fruit ripening and leaf senescence, but its role in photoperiodic flowering is unclear. Molecular biology techniques will be applied to determining whether the expression of various flowering genes in Japanese morning glory is reduced when ethylene biosynthesis or ethylene signaling in the plants is disrupted. The research will fill in a major gap in our knowledge of plant flowering, while at the same time provide training in biological research to numerous undergraduate students at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution in rural Vermont. Finally, the research will impact agriculture as most crop plants are annual plants, and determining when to flower is critical for their reproductive success.

作为永久附着在地面上一个位置的生物，植物已经发展出感知环境条件并做出适当反应的机制。例如，许多植物利用光周期，或24小时内光照和黑暗时期的相对长度，来确定即将到来的环境条件是否有利，从而调节开花的开始。光周期调控植物开花发生的分子机制尚不完全清楚。本项目以日本牵牛花植物为研究对象，研究植物激素乙烯是否参与植物对光周期的调节。乙烯在植物的许多发育过程中发挥着重要作用，包括果实成熟和叶片衰老，但其在光周期开花中的作用尚不清楚。分子生物学技术将用于确定当植物的乙烯生物合成或乙烯信号被破坏时，日本牵牛花中各种开花基因的表达是否会减少。这项研究将填补我们对植物开花知识的主要空白，同时为佛蒙特州农村一所初级本科院校的众多本科生提供生物学研究方面的培训。最后，这项研究将影响农业，因为大多数农作物都是一年生植物，决定何时开花对它们的繁殖成功至关重要。