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，它要求从转基因细胞中再生整株植物。虽然所有的植物物种都拥有从单个细胞形成整个植物的遗传成分，但许多作物植物，包括玉米，从经过基因改造的细胞中再生的能力有限。主控基因被认为参与了植物再生的过程。这与细胞增殖能力密切相关，细胞数量的增加是细胞生长和繁殖的结果。在这个项目中，负责控制细胞生长和增殖的玉米基因将使用一种新的高通量筛选方法进行鉴定。通过进一步的试验验证调控玉米再生的关键候选基因。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，为分析和理解植物遗传学提供新的途径。它还将提供各种领域的培训机会，如植物遗传学、基因组学、分子生物学、基因组编辑、生物信息学和机器学习。植物的转化和再生是基因组工程的关键环节。这一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形成完整植物的全能性成分，但许多作物物种的再生能力水平较低，因此假设存在控制胚胎发生的全能性保守主基因，而其他非保守基因解释了不同的再生能力，这些基因与细胞增殖和生长能力有关。在本项目中，将通过转录组基因网络分析、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。该项目将为整合基因组分析和发现提供创新方法、海量数据和计算工具。该项目由生物科学理事会的植物基因组研究计划和促进竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）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。

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.