Developmental Mechanisms Underlying Fleshy Fruit Diversity in Rosaceae

共同主要研究者：Sridhar Hannenhalli，马里兰大学合作PI：Chris Dardick，阿巴拉契亚水果研究实验室，USDA-ARSCo-PI：Ann卡拉汉，阿巴拉契亚水果研究实验室，USDA-ARSF人们非常喜欢的水果也特别适合植物种子传播。 即使是密切相关的植物也会显示出不同类型的肉质果实，这些果实通过颜色、形状、大小、质地和其他性状的变化来实现传播。植物生物学家和水果作物科学家面临的一个主要问题是这些不同的水果类型是如何进化的，以及哪些因素控制着它们的发展。如果科学家能够解释不同水果类型的分子基础，新的育种工具就可以用来增加水果作物的价值，基础研究也可以得到推进。蔷薇科（蔷薇科）是一个很好的例子，说明水果是如何被选择和适应不同类型的传播的。该家族的成员，包括熟悉的草莓，苹果和玫瑰，都有独特的水果和水果来源的花结构。该项目研究这些不同的水果如何在分子水平上发育。利用比较基因组学和生物信息学方法，该研究将确定控制玫瑰家族的五个代表：草莓，桃，李，苹果和乌藨子之间的水果发育模式的共享和独特基因。计算方法将被用来确定调节基因网络，解释如何以及何时形成不同的水果。高中教师将在夏季参加研究项目，学习水果科学和计算数据分析，课程将开发用于高中课堂。通过将教师纳入研究，下一代学生将受到广泛影响，并将获得基因组学和生物信息学的实践机会。该项目研究了蔷薇科肉质果实表型多样性的分子遗传机制。通过利用蔷薇科基因组中基因的进化保守性，比较基因组学的力量将被用来确定肉质果实发育的关键基因和机制。最近发表的蔷薇科植物基因组序列（苹果、草莓、桃、乌藨子和李）为研究这一基本生物学问题提供了前所未有的机会。首先，详细的形态和组织学变化，在花和早期阶段的果实发育将其特征为所选择的蔷薇科物种。这些知识将指导特定花组织受精前后立即进行RNA测序方法的样品收集。将开发创新的生物信息学工具和策略来识别工具包基因和调控基因网络，其表达的空间或时间变化可能会改变不同物种的肉质水果程序。将进行包括RNAi、CRISPR和组织特异性异位表达在内的功能测试，以使用草莓、FasTrack李子和苹果中已建立的转化系统来测试预测的工具包基因。最终目标是确定工具包基因表达的变化和不同肉质水果类型的进化之间的因果关系。研究活动将与几个教育和推广计划相结合，包括对学生和博士后研究人员进行基因组学和信息学培训，为来自西弗吉尼亚州农村和马里兰州乔治王子县主要为少数民族服务的学校的高中教师举办生物信息学研讨会，并向公众宣传转基因生物和水果基因组学。所有序列数据将通过公共NCBI数据库和蔷薇科的社区数据库提供。

Co-PI: Sridhar Hannenhalli, University of MarylandCo-PI: Chris Dardick, Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory, USDA-ARSCo-PI: Ann Callahan, Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory, USDA-ARSFruits that are so enjoyed by people are also especially adapted for plant seed dispersal. Even closely related plants display different types of fleshy fruits that accomplish dispersal through variation in color, shape, size, texture and other traits. A major question for plant biologists and fruit crop scientists is how these diverse fruit types evolved and what factors control their development. If scientists could explain the molecular basis of different fruit types, new breeding tools could be used to increase the value of fruit crops and basic research could be advanced. The Rose family (Rosaceae) is an excellent example of how fruits have been selected and adapted to different types of dispersal. Members of the family, including the familiar strawberries, apples, and roses, all have unique fruits and floral structures from which the fruits are derived. This project investigates how these different fruits develop at the molecular level. Using comparative genomic and bioinformatics methods, the research will identify shared and unique genes that control the pattern of fruit development among five representatives of the Rose family: strawberries, peach, plum, apple and raspberry. Computational methods will be used to identify regulatory gene networks that explain how and when the diverse fruits form. High school teachers will be brought into the research program during the summer to study fruit science and computational data analysis, and curricula will be developed for use in the high school classroom. By integrating teachers into the research, the next generation of students will be impacted broadly and will gain hands-on exposure to genomics and bioinformatics. The project investigates the molecular genetic mechanisms that underlie the phenotypic diversity of fleshy fruits in the Rosaceae. By leveraging the evolutionary conservation of genes within the Rosaceae genome, the power of comparative genomics will be used to identify key genes and mechanisms of fleshy fruit development. The recently published Rosaceae genome sequences (apple, strawberry, peach, raspberry and plum) provide an unprecedented opportunity to investigate this fundamental biological question. First, detail morphological and histological changes during floral and early stage fruit development will be characterized for the chosen Rosaceae species. This knowledge will guide sample collection for RNA-sequencing methods immediately before and after fertilization in specific floral tissues. Innovative bioinformatic tools and strategies will be developed to identify toolkit genes and regulatory gene networks, whose spatial or temporal shifts of expression may alter fleshy fruit programs in different species. Functional tests including RNAi, CRISPR, and tissue-specific ectopic expression will be carried out to test predicted toolkit genes using the established transformation systems in strawberry, FasTrack plum, and apple. The ultimate goal is to identify causal relationships between changes of toolkit gene expression and evolution of distinct fleshy fruit types. The research activities will be integrated with several educational and outreach programs including training of students and postdoctoral researchers in genomics and informatics, bioinformatics workshops for high school teachers from rural West Virginia and predominantly minority-serving schools of Prince Georges County of Maryland, and outreach to the public about Genetically Modified Organisms and fruit genomics. All sequence data will be made available through the public NCBI database and through the community database for the Rosaceae.