Elucidating the mechanism of BROAD LEAF1 action in controlling barley leaf growth

在植物和动物中，器官生长成特有的大小和形状。近年来对双子叶模式植物的研究已经发现了大量决定叶片大小和形状的基因，并开始阐明它们的作用机制。相比之下，人们对单子叶植物中控制叶片生长的基因知之甚少。我们需要更好地了解这一过程，以评估这些主要开花植物类群之间生长控制的遗传和分子机制在多大程度上是保守的，尽管它们的叶片发育存在重要差异。为了回答这个问题，该项目将重点放在两个对叶片宽度有特定影响的大麦突变体上。我们将在不同水平上详细描述突变体的生长表型。这两个基因将使用遗传图谱和全基因组阵列杂交相结合的方法进行分离。我们将研究它们在大麦中的功能，并对拟南芥中它们的同源物进行表征，以确定它们在生长控制中的功能是否保守。最后，我们将在大麦驯化和/或作物改良过程中寻找这两个基因的选择特征。

In plants and animals, organs grow to characteristic sizes and shapes. Recent work in dicotyledonous model species has identified a large number of genes involved in determining leaf size and shape, and their mechanisms of action are beginning to be elucidated. By contrast, much less is known about the genes controlling leaf growth in monocotyledonous plants. A better understanding of this process is required to assess the extent to which the genetic and molecular mechanisms of growth control are conserved between these major groups of flowering plants, despite the important differences in the development of their leaves. To contribute to answering this question, the proposed project focuses on two barley mutants with specific effects on leaf width. We will characterize the growth phenotypes of the mutants in detail at different levels. The two genes will be isolated using a combination of genetic mapping and whole-genome array hybridization. Their functions will be studied in barley, and their orthologues from Arabidopsis thaliana will be characterized to determine whether their functions in growth control are conserved. Lastly, we will search for signatures of selection on the two genes during barley domestication and/or crop improvement.