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Plastid terminal oxidase - a route to improving food security

质体末端氧化酶——改善食品安全的途径

基本信息

批准号：
BB/S009078/1
负责人：
Giles Johnson
金额：
$ 42.92万
依托单位：
University of Manchester
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2019
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2019 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FS009078%2F1
关键词：
Plastid terminal oxidase route improving

项目摘要

The most important challenge facing humanity in the 21st century ensuring that the growing world population can continue to be fed in a reliable way, against a backdrop of changes in climate induced by human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels. Crops are especially vulnerable to fluctuations in weather conditions, with events such as droughts, heat waves and floods all liable to reduce yields. As such weather events are expected to increase in the future, we urgently need to breed plants with a greater capacity to tolerate these.The process of photosynthesis is at the forefront of plant interactions with their environment. Plants absorb light energy using molecules called chlorophylls, and use that energy to make sugars which feed the plant. Extreme weather does not stop light being absorbed, but it can stop it being used. When this occurs, the unused energy can instead cause damage to the leaf. In particular, it can give rise to the formation of highly reactive molecules, such as the bleach hydrogen peroxide. These can, if not controlled, destroy the leaf.The aim of this project is to investigate a new mechanism which protects plants from excess light. We have been working with a plant called salt cress (Eutrema salsugineum) which is a species found growing salt marshes. Salt cress is a relative of important crop plants such as cabbage and oil seed. We have identified a protein in this plant called the Plastid Terminal Oxidase (or PTOX for short) which we have shown can act as a safety valve for photosynthesis, dissipating excess light energy, when this cannot be used. PTOX has the potential therefore to improve stress tolerance in crop plants. When we take the gene for PTOX from salt cress and transfer it to another species, however, we are unable to detect any activity. We have recently shown that activity requires a change in the localisation of the PTOX protein in the leaf cells, moving it to a different compartment where it has not previously been seen.The aim of this project is to understand the processes involved in the relocalisation of PTOX in Eutrema and to attempt to transfer these to another species. We will use a combination of state of the art protein and gene expression analysis, combined with electron microscopy and genetic engineering to characterise the mechanisms involved in moving PTOX and to identify new genes which maybe required for this. At the end of the project we will have gathered new information to define the processes involved and will have tested certain genes to see if they play a role in the activation of PTOX.

21世纪人类面临的最重要挑战是，在人类活动（特别是化石燃料燃烧）引起的气候变化的背景下，确保不断增长的世界人口能够继续以可靠的方式获得粮食。农作物特别容易受到天气条件波动的影响，干旱、热浪和洪水等事件都可能导致产量下降。由于预计未来此类天气事件将会增加，我们迫切需要培育具有更强耐受能力的植物。光合作用过程处于植物与环境相互作用的最前沿。植物利用叶绿素分子吸收光能，并利用该能量制造为植物提供营养的糖。极端天气不会阻止光被吸收，但会阻止光的使用。当这种情况发生时，未使用的能量反而会对叶子造成损坏。特别是，它可以形成高反应性分子，例如漂白剂过氧化氢。如果不加以控制，它们会破坏叶子。该项目的目的是研究一种保护植物免受过度光照的新机制。我们一直在研究一种名为盐水芹（Eutrema salsugineum）的植物，这是一种在盐沼中发现的物种。盐水芹是重要作物如卷心菜和油料种子的近亲。我们在这种植物中发现了一种称为质体末端氧化酶（简称 PTOX）的蛋白质，我们证明它可以充当光合作用的安全阀，在无法使用时消散多余的光能。因此，PTOX 具有提高作物抗逆性的潜力。然而，当我们从盐芥中获取 PTOX 基因并将其转移到另一个物种时，我们无法检测到任何活性。我们最近表明，活性需要改变叶细胞中 PTOX 蛋白的定位，将其移动到以前从未见过的不同区室。该项目的目的是了解 Eutrema 中 PTOX 重新定位所涉及的过程，并尝试将这些过程转移到另一个物种。我们将结合最先进的蛋白质和基因表达分析，结合电子显微镜和基因工程来表征移动 PTOX 所涉及的机制，并识别可能需要的新基因。在项目结束时，我们将收集新的信息来定义所涉及的过程，并将测试某些基因，看看它们是否在 PTOX 的激活中发挥作用。