Early Seed Development Under Stressful Environments

地球上97%的水是咸水，现有淡水沉积物的三分之二被锁在冰雪中，只剩下1%供人类使用。由于大部分淡水被用来种植粮食，随着干旱事件变得更加频繁和激烈，气候变化将对我们的粮食供应构成挑战。因此，开发能够在减少淡水投入的情况下维持生产力的新一代作物至关重要。这个项目填补了我们对不利环境如何扰乱种子发育并最终影响植物生产力的认识上的一个重大空白。由于来自谷物(如水稻、玉米和小麦)的种子是热量的主要来源，而水稻是谷物的既定模型，因此这项工作将侧重于干旱胁迫如何对水稻早期种子发育产生不利影响，从而导致种子尺寸变小。采用分子和生化方法，该项目团队将识别对正常种子发育至关重要的水稻基因，但其表达会因干旱胁迫而改变。这项工作将阐明种子，可以说是最重要的经济植物器官，作为食物来源，如何感知和适应不断变化的环境。该项目将对开发缓解和适应气候变化所需的未来作物具有重要意义。该项目将通过培训残疾人来扩大STEM劳动力的参与。PIS将与内布拉斯加州大学林肯分校(UNL)残疾学生办公室(UNL)合作，招募和培训合格的个人参与项目研究活动。该项目还将建立一个新的种子开发模块，供有学习障碍的学生使用，从而为植物和土壤科学电子图书馆--一个在线科学教育材料储存库做出贡献。

Ninety-seven percent of Earth's water is saline and two-thirds of the existing fresh water deposit is locked away in snow and ice, leaving only one percent for human use. Since the majority of fresh water is used to grow food, the changing climate will challenge our food supply as drought events become more frequent and intense. Therefore, it is critical to develop a new generation of crops that can sustain productivity with reduced fresh water input. This project fills a significant gap in our understanding on how unfavorable environment perturbs seed development and ultimately affects plant productivity. Because seeds from cereals (such as rice, maize, and wheat) are the primary source of calories, and rice is an established model for cereals, this work will focus on how drought stress adversely affects early seed development in rice resulting in reduced seed size. Taking a molecular and biochemical approach, the project team will identify rice genes that are critical for normal seed development, but whose expression is altered by drought stress. This work will elucidate how seed, arguably the most economically important plant organ as food source, senses and adapts to a changing environment. This project will be important for developing future crops that are needed for mitigating and adapting to changing climate. The project will broaden participation in STEM workforce by training persons with disabilities. The PIs will work with the Office for Students with Disabilities at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) to recruit, and train qualified individuals into project research activities. This project will also contribute to The Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary, an online repository of science education materials, by building a new seed development module that is accessible for students with learning disabilities.