Joint NSF/ERA-CAPS: Al-UCIDATE - Towards A Molecular Understanding of Aluminum Genotoxicity for Crop Improvement

合作者：Lieven DeVeylder（比利时根特大学），Arp Schnittger（德国汉堡大学）和Iwona Szarejko（波兰silen西亚卡托维兹大学）铝（Al）毒性是全球作物生产的一个重要限制，发生在世界上50%以上的可耕地上。铝中毒最明显的症状和最重要的后果是对酸性土壤根系生长的抑制。一个突出的例子是大麦，它是温带地区（包括欧洲和北美）最重要的作物之一。大麦对铝毒性非常敏感，在酸性土壤中生长可造成高达30%的产量损失。由于其明显的复杂性，以前认为铝毒性是一个棘手的问题。该项目的目标是确定拟南芥和大麦长期暴露于人工智能后根系生长抑制的生化机制。期望对这一新过程的包容性理解将使农业作物植物的发展能够在人工智能的存在下生长和茁壮成长。关于推广和培训，该项目将为不同的高中群体提供研究培训机会。来自不同种族和社会背景的本科生和研究生。学生的培训将通过与比利时、德国和波兰的同事进行国际研究交流和合作来加强，他们领导了欧洲ERA-CAPS （http://www.eracaps.org/）伙伴项目，题为“对作物改良铝遗传毒性的分子理解（Al-UCIDATE）”。最后，该项目将为来自当地学区的一名当地高中教师提供暑期研究培训实习，该学区为大量西班牙裔学生提供服务。铝是地壳中最丰富的金属。当在酸性环境中发现时，Al会转化为剧毒的Al3+形式。虽然植物排斥Al的机制相对简单，但对Al毒性的生化基础以及Al导致严重的根系生长抑制并对产量产生深远影响的原因知之甚少。最近在模式植物拟南芥中的研究表明，Al可能是一种基因毒性物质，由Al引起的DNA损伤触发细胞周期检查点通路，该通路主要受细胞周期检查点因子ATR （Ataxia毛细血管扩张突变和rad3相关）调控。具体来说，ATR的突变似乎通过抑制细胞周期进程，从而使植物对铝具有相当的耐受性，从而迫使根对铝产生终端分化。铝作为dna胁迫诱导化合物的发现代表了铝毒性的新视角，值得进一步研究。本项目的目标是利用转录组学、系统发育学、基因组学和表型分析相结合的方法研究Al对大麦和拟南芥根系生长的新影响。通过开发一个长期暴露于人工智能后根系生长停止的模型，预计该信息将能够利用检查点控制来赋予具有重要经济意义的作物对人工智能的耐受性。通过这个项目产生的所有数据和资源都将向公众开放。基因组、序列和蛋白质组数据集将可通过一个联盟网站和公开可用的数据存储库访问，包括ArrayExpress （www.ebi.ac.uk/arrayexpress）和PRIDE Archive （http://www.ebi.ac.uk/pride/archive/）的蛋白质组数据。生物材料（种子、质粒等）可应要求提供。关键品系的种子也将在拟南芥生物资源中心（ABRC）和诺丁汉拟南芥资源中心（NASC）等适当的拟南芥种质中心存放和传播。

PI: Paul Larsen (University of California-Riverside) ERA-CAPS Collaborators: Lieven DeVeylder (Ghent University, Belgium), Arp Schnittger (Hamburg University, Germany) and Iwona Szarejko (University of Silensia-Katowice, Poland) Aluminum (Al) toxicity is an important limitation to worldwide crop production, occurring in upwards of 50% of the world's arable land. The most evident symptom and important consequence of Al toxicity is root growth inhibition on acidic soils. A prominent example is barley, which is one of the most important crops in temperate regions including Europe and North America. Barley is very sensitive to Al toxicity and yield losses of up to 30% have been associated with growth in acidic soils. It has been previously argued that Al toxicity was an intractable problem due to its apparent complexity. The goal of this project is to define the biochemical mechanism that underlies inhibition of root growth in Arabidopsis and barley following chronic exposure to Al. It is the expectation that an inclusive understanding of this novel process will enable the development of agricultural crop plants that can grow and thrive in the presence of Al. With regard to outreach and training, this project will provide research training opportunities for a diverse group of high school, undergraduate and graduate students from a range of ethnic and social backgrounds. Student training will be enhanced by international research exchanges and collaborations with colleagues from Belgium, Germany and Poland who lead the European ERA-CAPS (http://www.eracaps.org/) companion project entitled "Towards a molecular understanding of aluminium genotoxicity for crop improvement (Al-UCIDATE)". Finally, the project will provide a summer research training internship for a local high school teacher from a local school district that serves a significant Hispanic student population. Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the earth's crust. When found in acidic environments, Al converts to the highly toxic Al3+ form. While the mechanisms of Al exclusion from plants are relatively simple, little is known about the biochemical basis of Al toxicity and why Al leads to severe root growth inhibition with profound effects on yield. Recent work in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has shown that Al may act as a genotoxic agent, with DNA damage caused by Al triggering a cell cycle checkpoint pathway that is regulated largely by the cell cycle checkpoint factor Ataxia telangiectasia mutated and RAD3-related (ATR). Specifically, mutations in ATR appear to confer substantial Al tolerance to the plant by suppressing cell cycle progression which forces terminal differentiation of the root in response to Al. The finding that Al acts as a DNA-stress inducing compound represents a new perspective on Al toxicity that bears further investigation. The goal of this project is to study this novel effect of Al on root growth in barley and Arabidopsis using a combination of transcriptomic, phylogenetic, genomic and phenotypic analyses. By developing a model by which root growth is halted following chronic exposure to Al, it is anticipated that the information will enable the exploitation of checkpoint control to confer Al tolerance to economically important crop plants. All data and resources generated through this project will be publicly accessible. Genome, sequence, and proteome datasets will be accessible through a consortium website and through publicly available data repositories that include ArrayExpress (www.ebi.ac.uk/arrayexpress) and the PRIDE Archive (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/pride/archive/) for proteomics data. Biological materials (seeds, plasmids, etc.) will be made available upon request. Seeds of key lines will also be deposited at and disseminated through the appropriate stock centers such as the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center (ABRC) and Nottingham Arabidopsis Stock Centre (NASC) for Arabidopsis lines.