Elucidating the mechanism of meiotic drive by mRNA editing-mediated spore killing in Neurospora fungi.

这个项目将调查以有偏见的方式从父母传给后代的基因。对具有这种能力的基因的研究，被称为作弊基因或作弊者，可以帮助设计合成作弊基因。合成的作弊者可以用来通过经济上重要的有机体种群繁殖理想的特征。虽然已经在广泛的生物体中发现了作弊者，但他们可能是最容易在微生物中研究的。因此，本项目将重点研究丝状真菌粗糙脉孢菌中的作弊基因。这个项目的主要目的是阐明孢子杀死的分子机制，这是真菌作弊者通常使用的一种过程，以获得有偏见的传播率。该项目的主要目标是为研究生、本科生和一名GK-12 STEM教师提供研究培训。该项目的主要课题将是两套作弊基因：SK-2和SK-3。当携带Sk-2或Sk-3的菌株与不杀死孢子的菌株交配时，只有继承了Sk基因集的孢子(后代)才能存活。选择性地杀死非Sk基因类型似乎至少需要两个基因：一个产生毒物，一个产生解毒剂。关于Sk-2，毒药和解毒基因已经被识别出来。此外，产毒基因的转录本还会经历mRNA编辑，这是最近在真菌中发现的一种现象，但人们对此知之甚少。关于Sk-3，目前只发现了解毒剂基因，而mRNA编辑的作用尚不清楚。因此，该项目的目标是识别Sk-3毒药基因，揭示杀孢子剂毒物的细胞靶标(S)，发现杀孢子剂解毒剂中和杀孢子剂的分子过程，并了解RNA二级结构在杀孢子剂mRNA编辑中的作用。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智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will investigate genes that are transmitted from parents to offspring in a biased manner. Research on genes with this ability, referred to as cheating genes or cheaters, can aid efforts to engineer synthetic cheating genes. Synthetic cheaters can be used to propagate desirable traits through populations of economically important organisms. Although cheaters have been identified in a broad range of organisms, they are perhaps most easily studied in microorganisms. Therefore, this project will focus on cheating genes in the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. The primary aim of this project is to elucidate the molecular mechanism of spore killing, a process commonly used by fungal cheaters to achieve biased transmission rates. The primary aim will be pursued while providing research training to graduate students, undergraduate students, and a GK-12 STEM teacher.The primary subjects of this project will be two sets of cheating genes: Sk-2 and Sk-3. When an Sk-2 or an Sk-3-carrying strain mates with a non-spore killing strain, only spores (offspring) that inherit an Sk gene set survive. The selective killing of non-Sk genotypes appears to require at least two genes: one that produces a poison and one that produces an antidote. With respect to Sk-2, the poison and antidote genes have been identified. Furthermore, transcripts from the poison-producing gene undergo mRNA editing, a recently discovered and poorly understood phenomenon in fungi. With respect to Sk-3, only the antidote gene has been identified and the role of mRNA editing is unclear. The goals of this project are thus to identify the Sk-3 poison gene, to reveal the cellular target(s) of the Spore killer poisons, to discover the molecular process by which Spore killer poisons are neutralized by Spore killer antidotes, and to understand the role of RNA secondary structure in the editing of Spore killer mRNAs.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.