Evolutionary and Functional Analysis of Plant Adaptation to Salinity

植物适应盐度的进化和功能分析

• 批准号: 1119763
• 负责人: Karen Schumaker
• 金额: $ 54万
• 依托单位: University of Arizona
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-09-01 至 2016-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1119763&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Evolutionary; Functional; Analysis; Plant; Adaptation

Abiotic stresses such as soil salinity cause major reductions in annual agricultural yields worldwide. It has been estimated that, in the United States alone, soil salinity reduces irrigated crop yields by 20-30% annually. With few exceptions, crop plants are unable to adapt to the ionic and osmotic stresses induced by elevated levels of salt in the soil. While genetic variation for plant growth in salinity (salt tolerance) exists, little is known about the genes and pathways underlying this variation. This project will use: 1) evolutionary analyses of species within the Brassicaceae (the mustard family) to understand mechanisms that drive plant adaptation to soil salinity, 2) molecular genetic comparisons of Arabidopsis thaliana and Eutrema salsugineum (Thellungiella halophila), related species within the Brassicaceae with extreme differences in salt tolerance, to understand if changes in proteins or gene regulatory sequences drive this adaptive evolution and, 3) analyses of natural variation within Arabidopsis accessions to uncover the relationship between genetic variants and plant adaptation to salinity. Results from these studies will identify the genes, pathways, and modifications needed to enhance crop growth and yield in saline environments.This project will also be used to enhance the infrastructure of research, training, and outreach through: 1) continued instruction of undergraduate and graduate students and training of postdoctoral researchers at the University of Arizona, 2) collaboration with the University of Arizona Graduate Fellows in K-12 Education, the BIOTECH Project, and the KEYS Summer Internship Program, to produce integrated teaching modules to introduce evolutionary, genetic, and genomic approaches for investigating plant adaptation in K-12 classrooms and to provide teachers and high school students with research experiences and, 3) participation in the Southern Arizona Math, Science, and Technology Funfest program (6,000 4th-8th graders) and the University of Arizona Plant Science Family Nights.

土壤盐碱化等非生物胁迫导致全球农业年产量大幅减少。据估计，仅在美国，土壤盐碱化每年使灌溉作物产量减少20-30%。除了少数例外，作物植物不能适应土壤中盐含量升高引起的离子和渗透胁迫。虽然植物在盐度（耐盐性）中的生长存在遗传变异，但对这种变异背后的基因和途径知之甚少。本项目将用途：1）菊科植物的进化分析（芥菜科）了解植物适应土壤盐分的机制，2）拟南芥和盐地黄皮的分子遗传学比较（Thellungiella halophila），在盐耐受性方面具有极端差异的拟南芥科内的相关物种，以了解蛋白质或基因调控序列的变化是否驱动这种适应性进化，3）分析拟南芥种质内的自然变异，以揭示遗传变异与植物对盐适应之间的关系。这些研究的结果将确定在盐碱环境中提高作物生长和产量所需的基因、途径和修饰。该项目还将用于通过以下方式加强研究、培训和推广的基础设施：1）继续指导本科生和研究生，并在亚利桑那大学培训博士后研究人员，2）与亚利桑那大学K-12教育研究生研究员，生物技术项目和KEYS暑期实习计划合作，制作综合教学模块，介绍进化，遗传，和基因组方法，用于调查K-12教室中的植物适应性，并为教师和高中学生提供研究经验，3）参与亚利桑那州南部的数学，科学和技术Funfest计划（6,000名4 - 8年级学生）和亚利桑那大学植物科学家庭之夜。