Transcriptional and Post-transcriptional Regulation of Fruit Development

水果在农业中发挥着核心作用，因为它们是许多作物物种的收获产品。对控制果实发育的主要基因的详细了解可能会导致重要的农业应用，这些应用将极大地提高作物产量，如增加每个果实的种子数量，扩大果实，在没有施肥的情况下允许果实生长，以及控制种子的损失和扩散。拟南芥已成为全世界植物生物学家选择的模式生物，我们之前的研究已经确定了控制拟南芥果实发育的主要基因。最近，一种新的基因--microRNAs被证明对植物和动物的基因活性调节有重要影响。这些microRNA基因在果实发育过程中的作用还没有被研究过。我们的建议旨在揭示这些微小RNA基因在果实发育控制中所起的关键作用。该项目将为博士后学者提供高级培训，本科生研究人员也将直接参与。该项目将参与一项正在进行的计划，以增加科学事业各级代表不足的群体的数量。在整个项目中，奖学金将允许来自圣地亚哥和洛杉矶不同高中的学生参加密集和延长计划，旨在招募他们进入科学职业生涯，并帮助留住他们。因此，该项目将对人力资源开发、对植物科学核心问题的理解产生影响，并将适用于广泛的农业应用。

Fruits play a central role in agriculture since they are the harvested product for many crop species. A detailed understanding of the major genes that control fruit development is likely to lead to important agricultural applications that will dramatically increase crop yield, such as increasing the number of seeds per fruit, enlarging the fruit, allowing fruit growth in the absence of fertilization, and controlling seed loss and dispersal. Arabidopsis has become the model organism of choice for plant biologists worldwide, and our previous studies identified the major genes that control fruit development in Arabidopsis. Recently, a new type of gene, microRNAs have been shown to have a major impact on the regulation of gene activity in plants and animals. These microRNA genes have not previously been studied in terms of their roles during fruit development. Our proposal aims to uncover the critical roles that these microRNA genes play in the control of fruit development. The project will provide advanced training for a postdoctoral scholar and undergraduate researchers will also be directly involved. The project will participate in an ongoing program with the vision of increasing the number of under represented groups at every level of the scientific enterprise. Throughout the project, fellowships will allow students from diverse San Diego and Los Angeles high schools to participate in intensive and extended programs aimed at recruiting them to science careers and aiding in retention. Thus, the project will impact human resource development, understanding of central problems in plant science and will also be applicable to a wide range of agricultural applications.