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的挑战确保了不断增长的世界人口可以继续以可靠的方式喂养，这是在人类活动引起的气候变化的背景下，尤其是化石燃料的燃烧。在天气条件下，农作物尤其容易受到波动的影响，干旱，热浪和洪水等事件都可能降低产量。由于预计将来的天气事件将会增加，因此我们迫切需要繁殖具有更大能力的植物。光合作用的过程是植物与环境相互作用的最前沿。使用称为叶绿素的分子吸收植物，并使用该能量制成供应植物的糖。极端天气不会停止吸收光，但可以阻止使用它。当发生这种情况时，未使用的能量可能会对叶子造成损害。特别是，它可能导致高度反应性分子的形成，例如漂白氢过氧化氢。这些可能不受控制，消灭叶子。该项目的目的是调查一种保护植物免受过量光线的新机制。我们一直在与一种名为Salt Cress（Eutrema Salsugineum）的植物合作，该植物是一种发现生长盐沼的物种。盐奶油是重要作物植物的亲戚，例如卷心菜和油籽。我们已经确定了该植物中一种称为质体末端氧化酶（或简称PTOX）的蛋白质，我们显示的可以充当光合作用的安全阀，在无法使用时消散过量的光能。因此，PTOX具有提高作物植物的胁迫耐受性的潜力。但是，当我们从盐分中取出PTOX并将其转移到另一种物种时，我们无法检测到任何活性。我们最近表明，活动需要改变PTOX蛋白在叶细胞中的定位，将其移至以前没有看到的不同隔室。该项目的目的是了解PTOX在Eutrema重新定位的过程，并试图将其转移到另一个物种中。我们将结合艺术蛋白和基因表达分析的结合，结合电子显微镜和基因工程来表征涉及移动PTOX的机制，并鉴定可能需要的新基因。在项目结束时，我们将收集新信息来定义所涉及的过程，并将测试某些基因，以查看它们是否在PTOX的激活中发挥作用。