STTR Phase I: Epigenetically Enhanced Maize Hybrids

这项小型企业技术转让（STTR）项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是通过使用一种新的表观遗传植物育种技术来提高作物产量，从而提高植物生产力。这种新技术优化了植物的表观遗传信息，以类似于杂交植物活力的方式刺激植物生长和活力。这项提议试图将这种新方法与传统杂交结合起来，以提高植物产量。通过这种方法改良的植物所涉及的表观遗传机制的见解很可能将促进对杂种优势如何增加杂交植物产量的长期谜团的理解。在商业上，高产作物对农民和种子生产者来说更有利可图，从而提高整个农村农业经济的盈利能力。更重要的是，这些作物对环境更有利，因为在同等产量下，它们比传统作物需要更少的土地、水、燃料和肥料。这个STTR一期项目旨在测试所提出的表观遗传技术可以提高杂交玉米产量的假设。该项目的目标是用适当的表观遗传改良杂交品种在田间试验中测量产量，以验证这一假设。该项目的目标是开发两套表观遗传修饰的玉米植株，将其与杂种亲本植物杂交，进行杂交试验。一个群体将利用自然发生的Msh1基因突变。第二个群体将使用RNAi沉默方法进行开发。这两个群体将筛选最佳表型和分子反应。精选的单株植物将在冬季苗圃中进行杂交，以产生杂交种子。这种表观遗传改良的杂交种子将进行田间试验，以提高相对于对照杂交植物的产量。预期的结果是更高的产量将被观察到，从而证明了这种新技术的突破性潜力。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) project is to improve plant productivity by using a new epigenetic plant breeding technology to improve crop yields. This new technology optimizes epigenetic information in a plant to stimulate plant growth and vigor in a manner similar to hybrid plant vigor. This proposal seeks to combine this new method with traditional hybrids to increase plant yields. It is likely that insights into the epigenetic mechanisms involved in plants improved by this method will advance the understanding of the long-standing mystery of how heterosis increases yields in hybrid plants. Commercially, higher yielding crops are more profitable to farmers and seed producers, thereby increasing profitability throughout the rural agricultural economies. More importantly, these crops are better for the environment as they require less land, water, fuel, and fertilizer than traditional crops for equivalent yields. This STTR Phase I project proposes to test the hypothesis that the proposed epigenetic technology can increase yields in hybrid corn. The project's goal is to measure yields in field tests with the appropriate epigenetically improved hybrids to test this hypothesis. The project's objectives are to develop two sets of epigenetically modified corn plants to be crossed to heterotic parent plants for hybrid testing. One population will utilize a naturally occurring mutant in the Msh1 gene. The second population will be developed with RNAi silencing methods. Both populations will be screened for optimal phenotypic and molecular responses. Selected individual plants will be advanced for crossing in a winter nursery to produce hybrid seed. This epigenetically improved hybrid seed will be field tested for increased yields relative to control hybrid plants. The anticipated result is that higher yields will be observed, thereby demonstrating the breakthrough potential of this new technology.