EDGE TT: Genetic Transformation of Broadleaf Plantain (Plantago major) and Narrowleaf Plantain (Plantago lanceolata)

车前草属的250多种植物分布在世界各地，其中许多植物因其药用特性和减少土壤和水中有毒重金属的能力而受到广泛关注。车前草物种也被广泛用作基础和应用农业相关研究的实验模型系统。例如，车前草是最早用于研究雄性不育的物种之一，这是一种重要的生殖性状，已被用于作物改良。尽管车前草具有重要的经济和科学意义，但缺乏有效的现代分子工具，这是阻碍深入了解车前草过程和潜在调控机制以及未来作物改良所必需的基础发现的重大瓶颈。本项目旨在通过开发车前草的高效植物转化方法，为基因功能的基因检测提供工具。该项目的更广泛影响包括将协议和其他项目成果广泛传播到更广泛的植物研究界，并通过参与普渡大学现有的项目，参与和培训高中生，特别是那些来自科学领域代表性不足群体的高中生。车前草属植物有许多独特的特征，这些特征导致了一系列令人兴奋的发现，从143年前对雄性不育的初步观察和描述，到专注于阐明植物中糖转运的独特方面的研究，以及最近对脉管系统对矿物质缺乏的反应。在过去的二十年中，世界各地的大量研究小组进行了转录组学、蛋白质组学、代谢组学和生化研究，并确定了数千种可能参与车前草属中观察到的多种生物过程的候选基因和蛋白质。本项目旨在通过对两种广泛应用的车前草品种——阔叶车前草和窄叶车前草建立高效的转化方法，推进车前草基因功能的直接检测。之所以选择这两个物种，是因为它们被车前草研究界广泛用作模型系统，它们的低倍性（2x）和小基因组大小，以及它们对基因修饰的适应性。所有协议和资源将通过项目网站、公开视频、多种出版物和现场培训讲习班免费提供给公众。该项目由生物科学理事会的“通过基因组工具实现发现”（EDGE）和植物基因组研究计划（PGRP）共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并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，被认为值得支持。

More than 250 species in the Plantago genus are distributed throughout the world, many of which are of broad interest because of their medicinal properties and their ability to reduce toxic heavy metals from soil and water. Plantago species are also widely used as experimental model systems for both basic and applied agriculturally-relevant research. For example, Plantago was one of the first species used to study male sterility, an important reproductive trait that has been exploited for crop improvement. Despite its economic and scientific importance, efficient modern molecular tools for Plantago are lacking and represent a significant bottleneck that hampers efforts to provide an in-depth understanding of the processes and underlying regulatory mechanisms and the fundamental discoveries necessary for future crop improvement. This project aims to provide the tools for genetically testing gene function through the development of efficient plant transformation methods in Plantago. Broader impacts of the project include the wide dissemination of protocols and other project outcomes to the broader plant research communities and the engagement and training of high school students, particularly those from underrepresented groups in science, through participation in existing programs at Purdue. The Plantago genus has many unique features that have led to a series of exciting discoveries, from the initial observation and description of male sterility 143 years ago to studies focused on elucidating unique aspects of sugar transport in plants, and more recently the involvement of vasculature in response to mineral deficiency. In the last two decades, a large number of research groups over the world have conducted transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, and biochemical studies and identified thousands of candidate genes and proteins that likely participate in the diverse biological processes observed in the Plantago genus. This project aims to advance the direct testing of gene function in Plantago by establishing efficient transformation methods in two widely used Plantago species, broadleaf (P. major) and narrowleaf (P. lanceolata) plantains. These two species were chosen because of their popularity as model systems by the Plantago research community, their low ploidy (2x) and small genome sizes, as well as their amenability to genetic modification. All protocols and resources will be made freely available and accessible to the public through a project website, a publicly available video, multiple publications and on-site training workshops. This project is co-funded by the Enabling Discoveries through Genomic Tools (EDGE) and the Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) in the Directorate for Biological Sciences.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.