NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020: NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020: Requirement for N-Acetylglucosamine Transporters in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbiosis

2020 财年 NSF 生物学博士后奖学金：2020 财年 NSF 生物学博士后奖学金：丛枝菌根共生中 N-乙酰氨基葡萄糖转运蛋白的要求

• 批准号: 2010882
• 负责人: Sarabeth Buckley
• 金额: $ 21.6万
• 依托单位: Buckley, Sarabeth
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-07-01 至 2024-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2010882&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Postdoctoral; Fellowship; Biology; FY

This action funds an NSF National Plant Genome Initiative Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2020. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow who also presents a plan to broaden participation in biology. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to Sarabeth Buckley is "Requirement for N-Acetylglucosamine Transporters in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbiosis" The host institution for the fellowship is the Cambridge University, UK, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Uta Paszkowski.This research studies how plants and mycorrhizae, a soil fungus, communicate to form a symbiosis. Mycorrhizae attach to roots of most plants and help them grow. The plant provides the mycorrhizae with carbohydrates and the mycorrhizae provides plant roots with nutrients. To start this relationship, the plants and mycorrhizae communicate by sending chemical signals to each other, which are not fully understood. This project studies a protein in plants that is likely the first protein a plant needs to start communication. If the puzzle pieces of the entire process of communication can be identified and put together, that knowledge could be used to make plants grow better by enhancing this connection or introducing pieces of it to other plants. Increasing plant growth sustainably could help agricultural systems work with nature to grow more food and use carbon from the atmosphere. This training will provide critical skills as the fellow transitions from studying environmental science to plant molecular biology. Results from this research will be shared with the science community through conferences, but also the local community through programs such as those that increase opportunities for young women in science.The protein of interest, NOPE1, is a N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) transporter in plant roots. In mycorrhizae there is a homologous protein, NGT1. In the absence of NOPE1 a symbiosis between mycorrhizal fungus and roots cannot be established. This study answers 1. Are NOPE1 and NGT1 both essential for establishing a symbiosis and where are they expressed? 2. What is the signaling molecule transported by both? 3. How are molecules transported? It is hypothesized that: 1. Both NOPE1 and NGT1 are essential and are expressed close to where colonization occurs. 2. The molecules transported by NOPE1 and NGT1 are from both plants and fungi and are similar to N-acetylglucosamine. 3. NOPE1 and NGT1 transport these molecules both in and out of plant and fungus. Through this study the fellow will learn and use gene silencing, in situ hybridization, fluorescent tagging, and multiphoton confocal microscopy to observe gene expression. Relevant genes will be transferred to xenopus oocyte and to apply electro-physiological techniques in the presence of candidate molecules. Unknown molecules will be identified using LC-MS and NMR. RNAseq transcriptome analysis will provide insight into dynamics of downstream effects.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.

该行动资助了 2020 财年 NSF 国家植物基因组计划生物学博士后研究奖学金。该奖学金支持该研究员在主办实验室的研究和培训计划，该研究员还提出了一项扩大生物学参与的计划。本次奖学金的研究和培训计划的题目是“丛枝菌根共生中N-乙酰葡萄糖胺转运蛋白的要求”，该奖学金的主办机构是英国剑桥大学，赞助科学家是Uta Paszkowski博士。这项研究研究植物和菌根（一种土壤真菌）如何沟通以形成 共生。菌根附着在大多数植物的根部并帮助它们生长。植物为菌根提供碳水化合物，菌根为植物根部提供营养。为了开始这种关系，植物和菌根通过相互发送化学信号进行交流，但目前尚不完全清楚。该项目研究植物中的一种蛋白质，它可能是植物开始交流所需的第一种蛋白质。如果可以识别整个交流过程的各个拼图并将其组合在一起，那么这些知识就可以通过增强这种联系或将其中的一部分引入其他植物来使植物生长得更好。可持续地增加植物生长可以帮助农业系统与自然合作，种植更多食物并利用大气中的碳。当研究员从环境科学转向植物分子生物学时，这项培训将提供关键技能。这项研究的结果将通过会议与科学界分享，同时也将通过诸如增加年轻女性科学机会等计划与当地社区分享。感兴趣的蛋白质 NOPE1 是植物根部的 N-乙酰氨基葡萄糖 (GlcNAc) 转运蛋白。菌根中有一种同源蛋白NGT1。如果没有 NOPE1，则无法建立菌根真菌和根之间的共生关系。本研究回答了 1. NOPE1 和 NGT1 对于建立共生都是必需的吗？它们在哪里表达？ 2. 两者转运的信号分子是什么？ 3. 分子是如何运输的？假设： 1. NOPE1 和 NGT1 都是必需的，并且在靠近定植发生的位置表达。 2. NOPE1和NGT1转运的分子来自植物和真菌，与N-乙酰氨基葡萄糖相似。 3. NOPE1和NGT1将这些分子转运进出植物和真菌。通过这项研究，研究员将学习和使用基因沉默、原位杂交、荧光标记和多光子共聚焦显微镜来观察基因表达。相关基因将被转移到爪蟾卵母细胞中，并在候选分子存在的情况下应用电生理技术。将使用 LC-MS 和 NMR 鉴定未知分子。 RNAseq 转录组分析将提供对下游效应动态的洞察。该奖项反映了 NSF 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。