TRTech-PGR: PlantTransform: Boosting Agrobacterium-mediated transformation efficiency in the orphan crop tef (Eragrostis tef) for trait improvement

TRTech-PGR：PlantTransform：提高孤儿作物 tef（画眉草 tef）中农杆菌介导的转化效率，以改善性状

• 批准号: 2327906
• 负责人: Ayalew Osena
• 金额: $ 81.8万
• 依托单位: University of North Carolina Greensboro
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-02-01 至 2028-01-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2327906&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: TRTech; PGR; PlantTransform; Boosting; Agrobacterium

Plant genetic transformation plays a key role in understanding the genetic basis of complex traits. Transformation methods have been developed for model plants and some major crops such as rice and corn, which are usually poor in essential nutrients. In contrast, genetic transformation for underutilized or orphan crops such as tef (Eragrostis tef), which are gluten-free and rich in nutrients (minerals, vitamins, amino acids) and beneficial phytochemicals, is at a very infant stage due to limited genome information and lack of attention from scientists and funding agencies. This has tremendously delayed trait improvement in such crops. Therefore, there is a need to develop an efficient transformation method for tef genotypes varying in desirable traits including seed size and color, mineral content, iron bioavailability, and days to maturity. Moreover, transformation method has not been developed for the Indian lovegrass (E. pilosa), which is a wild progenitor of E. tef, and has several desirable traits including adaptation to wider environmental conditions, early maturity, and lodging tolerance, and is a potential source of traits for tef improvement. The major goal of this project is to develop transformation tools for diverse genotypes of E. tef and E. pilosa. This project will also offer training opportunities for University of North Carolina–Greensboro minority students, a postdoctoral researcher, and a visiting scientist from Ethiopia where tef is the most important staple crop. Furthermore, this project will support a tef genetic transformation workshop to be organized at the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research.Recently, the use of maize embryogenic regulator genes Baby boom (Bbm) and wushel (Wus2) has shown great promise for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of recalcitrant monocots including tef. Differences in transformation efficiency have also been observed between some tef varieties. However, the methods remain to be optimized. The specific objectives are: 1) to develop an efficient genetic transformation technique for tef, and 2) to develop transformation method for E. pilosa. Several Agrobacterium strains recently developed for recalcitrant monocots such as the thymine auxotrophic strains and engineered virulent strains, different tef genotypes varying in desirable traits and target tissues (leaf sheath and embryogenic calli), and varying tissue culture conditions will be tested to develop an efficient transformation method for tef and its wild relative Indian love grass. Resources generated from this project will be freely shared with the scientific community in the form of publications, protocols, workshops, presentations and websites.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.

植物遗传转化在理解复杂性状的遗传基础方面起着关键作用。转化方法已被开发用于模式植物和一些主要作物，如水稻和玉米，它们通常缺乏必需的营养素。相比之下，未充分利用或孤儿作物的遗传转化，如tef（画眉草tef），这是无麸质和丰富的营养物质（矿物质，维生素，氨基酸）和有益的植物化学物质，是在一个非常婴儿的阶段，由于有限的基因组信息和缺乏科学家和资助机构的关注。这极大地延迟了这些作物的性状改良。因此，需要开发一种有效的转化方法，用于在所需性状（包括种子大小和颜色、矿物质含量、铁生物利用度和成熟天数）方面变化的tef基因型。此外，印度爱草（E. pilosa），这是E. TEF，并且具有几个期望的性状，包括对更广泛的环境条件的适应性、早熟性和耐倒伏性，并且是用于TEF改良的性状的潜在来源。该项目的主要目标是开发针对不同基因型大肠杆菌的转化工具。tef和E. pilosa。该项目还将为北卡罗来纳大学格林斯伯勒分校的少数民族学生、一名博士后研究员和一名来自埃塞俄比亚的访问科学家提供培训机会，在埃塞俄比亚，茶黄素是最重要的主食作物。此外，该项目将支持在埃塞俄比亚农业研究所组织的tef遗传转化研讨会。最近，玉米胚胎发生调节基因Baby boom（Bbm）和wushel（Wus 2）的使用显示出农杆菌介导的包括tef在内的柠檬单子叶植物遗传转化的巨大前景。在一些tef品种之间也观察到转化效率的差异。然而，这些方法仍有待优化。本研究的具体目标是：1）建立一套高效的转铁蛋白基因技术; pilosa。最近开发的几种农杆菌菌株，如胸腺嘧啶营养缺陷型菌株和工程毒力菌株，不同的tef基因型不同的理想性状和靶组织（叶鞘和胚性愈伤组织），和不同的组织培养条件下将进行测试，以开发一种有效的转化方法tef和它的野生近缘印度爱情草。该项目产生的资源将以出版物、协议、研讨会、演示和网站的形式与科学界免费共享。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得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来支持。