EAGER: Leveraging Phytochromes for Dominant Developmental Control of Plants

现代农业依赖于通过选择性育种为环境精心定制的作物。在这方面，光敏色素是一个有吸引力的目标，这样的修改，因为他们是关键的调节植物生长和发育，以响应光和阴影。因此，光敏色素已经成为旨在改善发芽、幼苗建立、叶发育和开花时间的常规育种计划的目标。最近，一个新的显性，组成型激活的等位基因的光敏色素B（YHB）在拟南芥已被确定的表达影响所有这些过程。EAGER项目的总体目标是利用YHB等位基因选择性调节转基因植物中光形态发生程序的能力，并将这些等位基因工程化，用作苜蓿和芸苔属物种中植物来源的无公害遗传选择标记。具体目标是（1）表征和利用YHB表达的空间和时间调节，以选择性地调节植物中的光敏色素反应;和（2）开发和利用YHB载体作为植物来源的、无化学选择标记，用于基于植物和组织培养的遗传选择。如果成功，该项目将为光敏色素功能提供新的见解，可能对作物的改良产生潜在的广泛影响。除了为博士后研究助理提供培训机会外，该项目还将参与加州大学戴维斯分校社区学院本科生获得研究经验（CCAT-REU）计划，该计划为社区学院的学生提供研究培训实习机会。如果成功，该项目预计将通过出版物/演示和NCBI基因表达综合数据库产生并公开传播新方法和发现。本工作产生的所有植物和DNA材料将免费分发给所有申请人，并获得加州大学戴维斯分校技术转让办公室批准的适当MTA协议。

Modern agriculture relies on crops that have been carefully tailored for environments by selective breeding. In this regard, phytochromes are an attractive target for such modifications, because they are key regulators of plant growth and development in response to light and shade. As such, phytochromes have been targets of conventional breeding programs aimed to improve germination, seedling establishment, leaf development, and flowering time. Recently, a novel dominant, constitutively activated allele of phytochrome B (YHB) in Arabidopsis has been identified whose expression impacts all of these processes. The overall goal of this EAGER project is to exploit the ability of YHB alleles for selective regulation of photomorphogenic programs in transgenic plants and to engineer these alleles for use as a plant-derived, antibiotic-free genetic selection marker in Medicago and Brassica species. The specific aims are to (1) characterize and exploit spatial and temporal regulation of YHB expression to selectively regulate phytochrome responses in plants; and, (2) develop and exploit YHB vectors as plant-derived, chemical-free selection marker for in planta and tissue culture-based genetic selection. If successful, this project will provide new insight into phytochrome function that may have potential broad impact for the improvement of crop plants.In addition to providing training opportunities for a postdoctoral research associate, the project will participate in the UC Davis Community College Access to Research Experiences for Undergraduates (CCAT-REU) program that provides research training internships to community college students. If successful, the project is expected to generate and publically distribute new methods and findings through publications/presentations and through NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus. All plant and DNA materials generated by this work will be distributed to all requestors for no charge with appropriate MTA agreements approved by the UC Davis Office of Technology Transfer.