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

在植物和动物中，器官生长到特征性的大小和形状。双子叶模式植物的研究已经发现了大量与叶的大小和形状有关的基因，其作用机制也开始被阐明。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。需要更好地了解这一过程，以评估在何种程度上的遗传和分子机制的生长控制这些主要群体的开花植物之间的保守，尽管在他们的叶子的发展的重要差异。为了有助于回答这个问题，拟议的项目集中在两个大麦突变体与叶宽的具体影响。我们将在不同的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作图和全基因组阵列杂交的组合来分离。将在大麦中研究它们的功能，并对其来自拟南芥的直系同源物进行表征，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标记。

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.