权益分类	功能权益	普通用户	{{item.name}}会员
{{category.name}}	{{benefitItem.name}}

EAGER: DNA demethylation in maize pollen gene regulation

EAGER：玉米花粉基因调控中的 DNA 去甲基化

基本信息

批准号：
2218712
负责人：
Jonathan Gent
金额：
$ 30万
依托单位：
University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2022
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2022-06-01 至 2025-05-31
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2218712&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
EAGER DNA demethylation maize pollen

项目摘要

Pollen is made of two cell types, sperm cells and pollen vegetative cells, each with different sets of active genes. Pollen vegetative cells carry the sperm cells inside them on their journey first through the air and then through the female reproductive structure to fuse with eggs and make seeds. During this process, the pollen vegetative cells use a large number of genes to grow and develop and to protect their cargo of sperm cells. Robust pollen that can survive adverse environmental conditions is essential for high yield in crops like corn (maize). Especially in regard to heat tolerance, pollen is an important consideration in crop improvement. Recent discoveries have revealed that enzymes called DNA glycosylases, which change the structure of DNA, are important for activating genes in pollen vegetative cells. This project aims to investigate the function of these enzymes in corn pollen. The results will yield new knowledge about pollen genetics and new tools for putting that knowledge to use in plant reproduction.DNA methylation generally represses repetitive DNA. In certain situations, however, DNA methylation can regulate developmental gene expression. In plants, DNA glycosylases remove methylation and can mediate epigenetic inheritance. The goal of this project is to identify both genes and intergenic regions of the genome that are targeted for demethylation and to determine the functional significance of demethylation in pollen. This will involve a novel approach to determine the effects of demethylation on gene expression at single-cell resolution in mixed populations of normal and glycosylase-defective pollen. The capstone of the project will be testing the potential of engineering glycosylases to demethylate specific genetic elements. This will be an initial step toward a larger goal of creating experimental resources for studying the consequences of methylation as well as for epigenetically controlling gene expression in pollen, with potential for heritability into the next generation.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.

花粉由两种细胞组成，精细胞和花粉营养细胞，每种细胞都有不同的活性基因。花粉营养细胞携带着精子细胞在它们的旅程中首先通过空气，然后通过雌性生殖结构与卵子融合并产生种子。在此过程中，花粉营养细胞利用大量的基因来生长发育和保护其精子细胞货物。能够在不利的环境条件下生存的健壮的花粉对于玉米等作物的高产至关重要。特别是在耐热性方面，花粉是作物改良的重要考虑因素。最近的发现表明，改变DNA结构的DNA糖基化酶对激活花粉营养细胞中的基因很重要。本项目旨在研究这些酶在玉米花粉中的功能。这些结果将产生花粉遗传学的新知识，以及将这些知识用于植物繁殖的新工具。然而，在某些情况下，DNA甲基化可以调节发育基因的表达。在植物中，DNA糖基化酶去除甲基化，并可以介导表观遗传。该项目的目标是确定基因和基因间区域的基因组，是针对去甲基化，并确定在花粉中去甲基化的功能意义。这将涉及一种新的方法，以确定在单细胞分辨率的正常和糖基化酶缺陷的花粉的混合人群中的基因表达的去甲基化的影响。该项目的顶点将是测试工程化糖基化酶使特定遗传元件去甲基化的潜力。这将是迈向更大目标的第一步，即为研究甲基化的后果以及花粉中表观遗传控制基因表达创造实验资源，并有可能遗传到下一代。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。