The origin and genetic architecture of desiccation tolerance in C4 grasses

复苏植物可以在长期干旱期间几乎完全干燥的情况下生存，并在水的恢复下恢复正常生长。草为人类提供了大部分营养，复活草的发现可以转化为密切相关的作物物种。控制脱水耐受性的遗传机制在很大程度上是未知的，但可能有助于提高作物的耐旱性。该研究项目的重点是经济上重要的禾本科植物中的复活植物。该项目涉及作物草和复活植物之间的详细比较，以确定区分典型干旱反应的基因和细胞途径，与干燥相关的基因和细胞途径。该项目的跨学科基因组，遗传和进化方面沉浸在植物科学研究的前沿高中，本科和研究生。与密歇根州立大学4H儿童花园合作的项目向学生和公民科学家讲授干旱对农业的影响。被子植物的脱水耐受性可能是通过重新连接预先存在的种子脱水途径而进化的，但这种转变背后的基因和途径水平的变化尚不清楚。本研究采用系统水平和比较基因组学方法研究C4禾本科植物耐旱性的遗传基础。该项目的重点是两个物种从独立的血统复活植物：Oropetium thomaeum，一个新兴的模式草，和Eragrostis nindensis，一个野生南非草密切相关的孤儿谷物tef（E。Tef）。在第一个实例中，基因和基因组复制在脱水耐受性的进化中的作用进行了探索和适应性进化的基因进行了鉴定。第二，转录组，表观基因组和染色质动态调查在高时间分辨率的干燥和再水化过程中。从这些数据集，一个全面的地图集的基因和调控元件控制干燥耐受性的草。最后，转录组和代谢物的数据收集从六个草种，独立进化的干燥耐受性测试收敛进化和保守的途径重新布线。开发了一系列教育推广活动和教学模块，以探索植物中干旱与水的关系。该项目的大规模数据集通过同行评审的出版物、演示文稿和NCBI序列档案馆和CyVerse的沉积进行传播。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

Resurrection plants can survive near complete drying during periods of prolonged drought and resume normal growth with the return of water. Grasses provide the bulk of human nutrition, and discoveries in resurrection grasses can be translated to closely related crop species. The genetic mechanisms controlling desiccation tolerance are largely unknown, but may be useful for improving drought tolerance in crop plants. This research project focuses on resurrection plants within an economically important grass family. The project involves a detailed comparison between crop grasses and resurrection plants in order to identify genes and cellular pathways that distinguish typical drought responses, from those associated with desiccation. The interdisciplinary genomic, genetic, and evolutionary aspects of this project immerse high school, undergraduate, and graduate students in the leading frontiers of plant science research. Projects in collaboration with the Michigan State University 4H Children's Garden teach students and citizen scientists about the impact of drought on agriculture. Desiccation tolerance in angiosperms likely evolved through rewiring pre-existing seed desiccation pathways, but the gene and pathway level changes underlying this transition are unknown. In this project, systems-level and comparative genomics approaches are used to understand the genetic basis of desiccation tolerance in C4 grasses. The project focuses on two species from independent lineages of resurrection plants: Oropetium thomaeum, an emerging model grass, and Eragrostis nindensis, a wild South African grass closely related to the orphan cereal tef (E. tef). In the first instance, the role of gene and genome duplication in the evolution of desiccation tolerance is explored and genes under adaptive evolution are identified. Second, transcriptome, epigenome, and chromatin dynamics are surveyed at high temporal resolution during the desiccation and rehydration processes. From these datasets, a comprehensive atlas of the genes and regulatory elements controlling desiccation tolerance in grasses is developed. Finally, transcriptome and metabolite data are collected from six grass species that evolved desiccation tolerance independently to test for convergent evolution and conserved pathway rewiring. A series of educational outreach activities and teaching modules are developed to explore drought and water relations in plants. Large-scale datasets from this project are disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, presentations, and deposition at the NCBI sequence archives and CyVerse.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.