Functional and Genetic Basis of Leaf Venation: Testing and Expanding Theory and Core Knowledge with Arabidopsis Vein Mutants and Ecotypes

叶脉性状被认为是了解植物对环境的适应、对环境变化的反应和作物生产性能的关键。然而，叶脉性状与整株生产性能的直接联系尚不完全清楚。该项目将测试和扩展叶脉在植物功能中作用的现有理论，使用模式物种拟南芥。该项目将确定不同静脉特征背后的基因，以及这些基因如何导致更高层次的功能，包括水分运输和生长。这项工作将发现基因如何决定植物功能，为提高植物生产力创造资源，并阐明自然物种的进化，在植物生理学、生态学和遗传学领域具有重要影响。众多本科生将融入该项目，接受科学方法论和数据分析方面的训练。该项目包括创建一个新的网络资源，使K-12学生、教师和公众能够进行他们自己的分析，以估计静脉特性如何影响植物功能。这项工作旨在通过在农业和生态可持续性方面的应用，以及对理科生和公众的植物生物学教育，促进国家的繁荣和福利。叶脉形成越来越被认为是植物生长的重要因素，从农业到古生物学都有应用。这一认识是基于对不同植物物种的比较研究，这些研究表明，叶脉理的主要结构特征影响叶片气体交换。然而，关于静脉特征重要性的理论还没有在一个模型系统中得到严格的检验，比如拟南芥。叶脉突变体的叶片表型显示出叶脉横断解剖结构、间距、模式和/或连通性的改变。该项目将利用叶脉突变体和自然生态型，之前在生理实验、建模和遗传分析的组合中进行基因组测序。假设的机制性状联系和性状全基因组关联将被测量，以解决两个研究问题：(1)叶脉性状如何影响水力、气体交换和生长？(2)哪些基因位点与叶脉性状相关，它们如何决定拟南芥基因型的高级功能？该项目在模拟基因序列如何决定植物关键性状并扩展到整个植物功能方面开辟了新天地。综合方法将为植物生理学和遗传结构提供新的见解，并为这些领域交叉的许多进一步分析奠定基础。更广泛的影响工作将利用叶脉对科学家、学生和外行人的巨大吸引力。与本科生和代表性不足的高中生合作，将创建一个众包网站“VenationNation”，为研究人员、公民和学生提供独特的资源，以参与叶脉学研究。该网站将包含可下载的叶脉系统图像，以及通过自学和课程课程来计算和解释叶脉特征的协议。该网站将增加公民和学生对科学的参与，为教学提供资源，创造理解植物科学原理的途径，并有助于研究的全球传播。

Leaf vein traits are considered to be critical for understanding plant adaptation to the environment, responses to environmental changes, and crop performance. However, the direct linkages of vein traits to whole plant performance are not completely understood. This project will test and extend current theory for the role of leaf veins in plant function, using the model species Arabidopsis thaliana. The project will determine the genes underlying different vein traits and how these lead to higher-level functions including water transport and growth. This work will result in discoveries of how genes determine plant function, create resources for improving plant productivity, and clarify the evolution of natural species, with critical impacts in the fields of plant physiology, ecology and genetics. Numerous undergraduate students will be integrated into the project, receiving training is scientific methodology and data analysis. The project includes the creation of a new web resource to enable K-12 students, teachers, and members of the public to conduct their own analyses to estimate how vein properties affect plant function. The work aims to advance national prosperity and welfare through applications in agriculture and ecological sustainability and education of science students and the public in plant biology.Leaf venation is increasingly recognized as important to plant performance, with applications from agriculture to paleobiology. This understanding is based on comparative studies across diverse plant species, which showed that major structural features of leaf venation influenced leaf gas exchange. However, the theory for the importance of vein traits has not yet been tested rigorously in a model system, such as A. thaliana. Vein mutants have been identified with leaf phenotypes showing altered vein cross-sectional anatomy, spacing, patterning and/or connectivity. The project will utilize both leaf vein mutants and natural ecotypes previously subjected to genomic sequencing in a combination of physiological experiments, modeling, and genetic analyses. Hypothesized mechanistic trait linkages and genome-wide association of traits will be measured to address two research questions: (1) How do leaf vein traits influence hydraulics, gas exchange and growth? (2) What are the genetic loci associated with leaf vein traits, and how do they determine higher-level function across A. thaliana genotypes? The project breaks new ground in the ability to model how gene sequence determines key plant traits that scale up to whole plant function. The integrative approach will provide new insights into plant physiology and genetic architecture and set the stage for numerous further analyses at the intersection of these fields. Broader Impacts work will capitalize on the great appeal of leaf venation for scientists, students and laypeople. In collaboration with undergraduate students and under-represented high school students, a crowd-sourcing website will be created, "VenationNation", to provide unique resources for researchers, citizens and students to become involved in leaf venation research. The site will contain downloadable images of leaf vein systems and protocols to calculate and interpret vein traits with self-teaching and course curricula. This site will increase the involvement of citizens and students in science, provide resources for teaching, create pathways toward understanding of principles of plant science, and aid in the global dissemination of the research.