Defining the Roles of Autophagy in Nutrient Recycling, Stress Protection, and Seed Development in Maize by Omics and Multi-scale Approaches

该项目进行了全面的分子分析，以了解植物如何通过称为自噬(自噬)的细胞过程来转移营养，并了解当自噬失败时激活了哪些补偿机制。有了这些知识，应该有可能对作物进行重新改造，使其更有效地利用通过光合作用固定的碳和从土壤中获得的养分。在正常和有压力的条件下，能够更好地将营养重新分配到新的生长、储存和成熟果实的区域的植物将提供更好的产量。参与研究的研究人员将为学生和博士后研究员提供现代生物学方法的培训，以研究作物生理学。在威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校，在这个项目期间产生的数据集被纳入本科课程和新的实验室课程，在针对K-12学生的外联活动中具有很强的组成部分。三个参与实验室还在科学会议期间组织研讨会。自噬是构成关键农业性状的细胞、发育和生理反应的中央调节因素，如肥料利用效率和养分再动员、固定碳分配、种子质量和萌发、产量和对环境胁迫的耐受性。然而，目前对作物自噬的组织、调控和选择性的理解还处于初级阶段。该建议的目标是：(1)通过Mu-和CRISPR/Cas9相关方法扩大自噬和相关突变体的收集；(2)使用全套组学方法来定义自噬如何影响玉米的转录组、蛋白质组、代谢组和表观组；(3)描述选择特定玉米货物的ATG8结合自噬受体的套件；以及(4)确定正常和胁迫条件下的自噬货物。总体而言，这项工作将提供第一个关于作物自噬及其在生长、养分分配、抗逆性和籽粒发育中作用的系统观点。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project undertakes a comprehensive molecular analysis to understand how plants mobilize nutrients through a cellular process called autophagy (self-eating) and to understand what compensatory mechanisms are activated when autophagy fails. With this knowledge, it should be possible to re-engineer crops that more efficiently use carbon fixed through photosynthesis and nutrients acquired from the soil. Plants that better remobilize nutrients to areas of new growth, storage, and ripening fruits would provide for better yields under normal and stressful conditions. The participating investigators will provide training to students and postdoctoral fellows in modern biological approaches to study crop physiology. At University of Wisconsin-Madison the datasets generated during this project are incorporated into undergraduate courses and new laboratory classes with a strong component in outreach directed towards K-12 students. The three participating laboratories also organize workshops during scientific meetings.Autophagy is a central regulator of the cellular, developmental, and physiological responses that underlie key agricultural traits, such as fertilizer-use efficiency and nutrient remobilization, fixed carbon allocation, seed quality and germination, yield, and tolerance to environmental stress. However, current understanding of the organization, regulation, and selectivity of autophagy in crops is in its infancy. The objectives of this proposal are to: (1) Expand the collection of autophagy and related mutants by Mu- and CRISPR/Cas9-related methods; (2) Use the full suite of omics approaches to define how autophagy impacts the transcriptome, proteome, metabolome, and phenome of maize; (3) Describe the suite of ATG8-binding autophagy receptors that select specific maize cargo; and (4) Identify autophagic cargo under normal and stressful conditions. Collectively, this work will provide the first systems view of autophagy in a crop plant and its roles in growth, nutrient allocation, stress tolerance, and kernel development.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.