EAGER: Hormetic Responses and their Regulation in Arabidopsis

EAGER：拟南芥中的激素反应及其调节

• 批准号: 1313814
• 负责人: Thomas Eulgem
• 金额: $ 3.82万
• 依托单位: University of California-Riverside
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-02-01 至 2014-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1313814&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Hormetic; Responses; their; Regulation

Low doses of toxic chemicals have often been shown to enhance the biological performance of organisms. This phenomenon, which has been termed hormesis, seems to be based on compensatory processes following an initial disruption of cellular functions. Hormesis may thereby enable organisms to adjust to sudden environmental changes. Although hormetic phenomena have been described for a wide variety of organisms and stimuli, only few studies have addressed details of the biological basis of hormesis and it is unclear, if distinct forms of hormesis are mediated by common genetic processes. Biological mechanisms underlying hormesis in plants are completely unknown and have never been systematically analyzed. This project utilizes Arabidopsis, the most advanced experimental plant system, to initiate detailed studies on the genetics of plant hormesis. The main goal of this initial project phase will be to establish unequivocal evidence for hormesis in Arabidopsis and to provide preliminary insights on the types of biological processes that mediate these hormetic responses. Following the identification of disparate agents potently inducing hormesis in Arabidopsis, mutants of this species with defects in genes involved the control of hormesis will be identified and characterized. This will allow researchers to uncover genes critical for plant hormesis and will reveal if distinct types of hormesis are controlled by common or distinct processes. These results will provide a foundation for future expanded studies on plant hormesis and its relevance for hormesis in other types of organisms. This project is likely to impact medical research and will serve as a basis for future approaches utilizing hormesis for enhanced crop production. The project will provide training to graduate students as well as undergraduate students, mainly from minority groups that are underrepresented in the sciences. This study will be linked to classes on plant biochemistry and genetics taught for undergraduate and graduate students.

低剂量的有毒化学品往往被证明可以增强生物体的生物性能。这种现象被称为兴奋效应，似乎是基于细胞功能最初中断后的补偿过程。因此，毒物兴奋效应可能使生物体能够适应突然的环境变化。虽然已经描述了各种各样的生物体和刺激物的兴奋效应现象，只有少数研究已经解决了兴奋效应的生物学基础的细节，目前还不清楚，如果不同形式的兴奋效应是由共同的遗传过程介导的。植物兴奋效应的生物学机制是完全未知的，从来没有被系统地分析过。本计画利用目前最先进的实验植物系统拟南芥，展开植物激效效应遗传学的详细研究。这个项目初始阶段的主要目标是建立明确的证据，在拟南芥中的激效，并提供初步的见解类型的生物过程，介导这些激效反应。在鉴定了在拟南芥中有效诱导兴奋效应的不同试剂之后，将鉴定和表征在涉及控制兴奋效应的基因中具有缺陷的该物种的突变体。这将使研究人员能够发现对植物兴奋效应至关重要的基因，并揭示不同类型的兴奋效应是否由共同或不同的过程控制。这些结果将为今后扩大植物毒物兴奋效应及其与其他类型生物的相关性研究提供基础。该项目可能会影响医学研究，并将作为未来利用毒物兴奋效应提高作物产量的方法的基础。该项目将为研究生和本科生提供培训，主要是来自在科学领域代表性不足的少数群体。这项研究将与本科生和研究生的植物生物化学和遗传学课程相联系。