Roles of meiotic-stage non-coding RNAs in maize anther development

减数分裂阶段非编码RNA在玉米花药发育中的作用

• 批准号: 2320971
• 负责人: Blake Meyers
• 金额: $ 100万
• 依托单位: Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-09-01 至 2026-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2320971&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Roles; meiotic; stage; non; coding

Pollen production and regulation of plant fertility are essential to agriculture. Hybrid corn and other grains have significantly boosted world food production. This project will investigate the functions of RNAs that support pollen development in anthers (the organs that make pollen in flowering plants). The project will utilize plant genomics and developmental biology to determine the biological roles of small RNAs and the proteins that utilize them for anther functions. These RNAs are required for robust male fertility: in the absence of the small RNAs, at normal temperatures, development fails, yielding male sterility. Fertility can be rescued under lower temperatures, linking environmental conditions to the role of these small RNAs. The project focuses on maize because it is an optimal system for the proposed experiments; plus, male fertility is key to the production of hybrid corn seed. Outcomes of this project could include improved control of male fertility in grass crops. Broader impacts of the project include training of students in plant and RNA biology. The project will focus specifically on the class of 24-nt phased, secondary siRNAs, known as “24-nt phasiRNAs” that are highly enriched in meiotic-stage anthers. The project will characterize phenotypes and molecular genetic analysis of loss-of-function knock-outs including the Dicer-like5 (Dcl5) gene, for which the preliminary data demonstrate male sterility. The questions to be addressed by this project include which basic Helix-Loop-Helix transcription factors function to activate transcription of the 24-nt phasiRNAs? How does the core biogenesis protein DCL5 function, and what is the exact nature of the phenotype of sterility in its absence? Are there genetic modifiers of the dcl5 conditional phenotype in other backgrounds of maize? What are the key catalytic Argonaute proteins that load the 24-nt phasiRNAs for their function? And what are the target RNAs with which the phasiRNA-loaded Argonaute proteins interact?This award was co-funded by the Genetic Mechanisms Cluster in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences and the Plant Genome Research Program in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems.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.

花粉生产和植物肥力的调节对农业至关重要。杂交玉米和其他谷物大大提高了世界粮食产量。该项目将研究支持花药（开花植物中制造花粉的器官）中花粉发育的RNA的功能。该项目将利用植物基因组学和发育生物学来确定小RNA和利用它们实现花药功能的蛋白质的生物学作用。这些RNA是强大的雄性不育所必需的：在缺乏小RNA的情况下，在正常温度下，发育失败，产生雄性不育。在较低的温度下可以挽救生育力，将环境条件与这些小RNA的作用联系起来。该项目的重点是玉米，因为它是拟议实验的最佳系统;此外，雄性不育是杂交玉米种子生产的关键。该项目的成果可包括改进对牧草作物雄性生育力的控制。该项目的更广泛影响包括对学生进行植物和RNA生物学方面的培训。该项目将特别关注一类24-nt定相的二级siRNA，称为“24-nt phasiRNA”，它们在减数分裂期花药中高度富集。该项目将对包括Dicer-like 5（Dcl 5）基因在内的功能缺失敲除进行表型和分子遗传学分析，初步数据表明该基因具有雄性不育性。该项目要解决的问题包括哪些基本的螺旋环抑制转录因子的功能，以激活转录的24-nt phasiRNA？核心生物发生蛋白DCL 5是如何起作用的，在其缺失的情况下，不育表型的确切性质是什么？在玉米的其他背景中是否存在dcl 5条件表型的遗传修饰因子？什么是关键的催化Argonaute蛋白，负载24-nt phasiRNA的功能？与加载有phasiRNA的Argonaute蛋白相互作用的靶RNA是什么？该奖项由分子和细胞生物科学部的遗传机制小组和综合有机体系统部的植物基因组研究计划共同资助。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。