权益分类	功能权益	普通用户	{{item.name}}会员
{{category.name}}	{{benefitItem.name}}

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确保在人类活动，特别是化石燃料燃烧引起气候变化的背景下，能够继续以可靠的方式养活不断增长的世界人口。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减产。由于预计未来此类天气事件将会增加，我们迫切需要培育出更强的植物耐受能力。光合作用过程处于植物与环境相互作用的前沿。植物通过名为叶绿素的分子吸收光能，并利用这些能量制造糖，为植物提供养分。极端天气不会阻止光被吸收，但它可以阻止光的使用。当这种情况发生时，未使用的能量反而会对叶子造成损害。特别是，它可以引起高活性分子的形成，如漂白剂过氧化氢。如果不加以控制，它们可以破坏叶子。这个项目的目的是研究一种新的机制，保护植物免受过度光照的影响。我们一直在研究一种名为盐芹(Eutrema Salsugineum)的植物，它是一种生长在盐沼中的物种。盐芹是卷心菜、油菜籽等重要农作物的近亲。我们已经在这种植物中发现了一种名为叶绿体末端氧化物酶(简称PTOX)的蛋白质，我们已经证明，它可以作为光合作用的安全阀，在不能使用的时候消耗多余的光能。因此，PTOX具有提高作物抗逆性的潜力。然而，当我们从盐水芹中提取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。我们最近已经证明，这种活动需要改变PTOX蛋白在叶细胞中的定位，将其移动到以前从未见过的不同的隔室。本项目的目的是了解PTOX在Eutrema中重新定位的过程，并试图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描述转移PTOX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确定涉及的过程，并将测试某些基因，看看它们是否在PTOX的激活中发挥作用。