Collaborative Research: RESEARCH-PGR: PlantTransform: The Genetic Basis of Maize Regeneration and Applications to Plant Transformation

植物基因工程对作物改良至关重要，需要从转基因细胞中再生出完整的植物。虽然所有植物物种都具有从单细胞形成完整植物的遗传成分，但包括玉米在内的许多农作物从经过基因改造的细胞再生的能力有限。主基因被认为参与植物再生过程。这与细胞的增殖能力密切相关，细胞的生长和繁殖导致细胞数量的增加。在这个项目中，将使用一种新的高通量筛选方法来鉴定负责控制细胞生长和繁殖的玉米基因。调控玉米再生的关键候选基因的验证将通过进一步的测试进行。该项目的主要目标是更好地了解植物再生的遗传基础，以改进基因工程策略。该项目将通过使用新的基因组编辑技术、大量数据和计算工具，提供分析和理解植物遗传学的新方法。它还将提供植物遗传学、基因组学、分子生物学、基因组编辑、生物信息学和机器学习等多个领域的培训机会。植物转化和再生是基因组工程的关键步骤。这项建议的首要目标是提高我们对植物再生的遗传基础的理解。由于每个植物基因组都具有全能成分来形成整个植物，但在许多作物物种中再生能力都很低，因此推测存在控制胚胎发生的全能基因的保守主控基因，以及额外的非保守基因解释了不同的再生能力，这些基因与细胞的增殖和生长能力有关。在本项目中，将通过转录基因网络分析、基因组比较、高通量CRISPR筛选和单个基因的功能验证来鉴定控制细胞增殖和生长的玉米基因。该项目将为综合基因组分析和发现提供创新的方法、海量数据和计算工具。该项目由生物科学局的植物基因组研究计划和已建立的激励竞争性研究计划(EPSCoR)共同资助。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。

Genetic engineering of plants is critical for crop improvement and requires regeneration of whole plants from genetically modified cells. While all plant species possess genetic components to form whole plants from single cells, many crop plants, including maize, have a limited ability to regenerate from cells that are subjected to genetic modification. Master genes are hypothesized to be involved in the process of plant regeneration. This is strongly related to the ability of cell proliferation, an increase in the number of cells as a result of growing and multiplying of cells. In this project, maize genes responsible for controlling cell growth and multiplication will be identified using a novel high-throughput screening approach. Validating key candidate genes in regulating maize regeneration will be carried out through further testing. The primary goal of this project is to better understand the genetic basis of plant regeneration for improved genetic engineering strategies. This project will provide new ways of analyzing and understanding plant genetics through the use of new genome editing technologies, large amounts of data, and computational tools. It will also offer training opportunities in various fields such as plant genetics, genomics, molecular biology, genome editing, bioinformatics, and machine learning.Plant transformation and regeneration are key procedures of genome engineering. The overarching goal of this proposal is to improve our understanding of the genetic basis of plant regeneration. As each plant genome possesses totipotent components to form an entire plant but the capability to regenerate is at low levels in many crop species, it is hypothesized that conserved master genes for totipotency governing embryogenesis exist and that additional non-conserved genes account for differing regeneration ability, and these genes are associated with the ability of cell proliferation and growth. In this project, maize genes controlling cell proliferation and growth will be identified by conducting analysis of transcriptomic gene networks, genomic comparisons, high-throughput CRISPR screening, and functional validation of individual genes. The project will provide innovative approaches, massive data, and computational tools for integrative genomic analysis and discoveries. TThis project is jointly funded by the Plant Genome Research Program in the Directorate for Biological Sciences and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.