An evolutionary approach to optimising synthetic apomixis in cereal crops

优化谷类作物合成无融合生殖的进化方法

• 批准号: BB/V016466/1
• 负责人: Mario Caccamo
• 金额: $ 109.08万
• 依托单位: National Institute of Agricultural Botany
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FV016466%2F1
• 关键词: evolutionary; approach; optimising; synthetic; apomixis

We propose to investigate the key fundamental processes underlying seed-mediated clonal asexual reproduction (apomixis) in plants with the ultimate aim of delivering an efficient system in cereal crops. The ability to deploy, control and modulate apomixis has the potential to revolutionise the multiplication of hybrid seeds and accelerate the implementation of modern plant breeding by enabling the use of a greater range of parental plants. More generally, advancing our understanding of this trait could also help to remove the need for pollination for fruit and seed production opening endless opportunities to develop biotechnology tools. Most flowering plants reproduce sexually by the production of male and female gametes through the processes of pollination and fertilisation generating seeds. During pollination male gametes transfer to the female ovules followed by a step of double-fertilisation which leads to the production of the embryo as well as the endosperm; in this way supporting the processes of adaption and evolution. There is, however, a large number of flowering plants that have evolved an alternative apomictic mode by which seeds are generated to produce embryos genetically identically to the mother plant. There are many forms of seed-mediated apomixis, the most common in grasses relies on the circumvention of female meiosis (apomeiosis) and the fertilization of the secondary endosperm nucleus without fertilising the unreduced egg cell (parthenogenesis). The underlying genetic factors and mechanisms governing these processes are not yet fully characterised. Developing a working understanding of either has potential value in its own right but considered together, they offer the possibility to implement seed-mediated apomixis.We propose to deploy and optimise the proof-of-concept rice model of Khanday et al. (2019) to deliver synthetic apomixis in barley, which will in turn support further work in other commercially important complex crops such as wheat. We will seek to improve on the rice system with the aim of raising the proportion of apomictic offspring towards commercially viable levels. This will be complemented by a forward genetics approach using the apomictic forage grass Eragrostis curvula as a source of gene targets which will also be validated in barley. This project draws on a large body of preliminary work and data, and on the strengths of a team with a particularly prominent track record in working with plant reproduction, new breeding technologies, transformation platforms, and bioinformatics applied to crop genetics. In the light of recent breakthroughs in the field and progress made by NIAB and collaborators, there is a unique opportunity to make a substantial contribution to the understanding of apomixis.

我们建议调查种子介导的无性繁殖（无融合生殖）在植物中的最终目标是提供一个有效的系统在谷类作物的关键基本过程。部署、控制和调节无融合生殖的能力有可能彻底改变杂交种子的繁殖，并通过使用更大范围的亲本植物来加速现代植物育种的实施。更一般地说，推进我们对这一特性的理解也有助于消除水果和种子生产对授粉的需求，为开发生物技术工具提供无限的机会。大多数开花植物通过授粉和受精产生种子的过程产生雄性和雌性配子进行有性繁殖。在授粉过程中，雄性配子转移到雌性胚珠中，然后进行双受精，从而产生胚和胚乳;以这种方式支持适应和进化的过程。然而，有大量的开花植物已经进化出一种替代的无融合生殖模式，通过这种模式产生种子以产生与母体植物遗传上相同的胚。种子介导的无融合生殖有多种形式，在禾本科植物中最常见的是依靠绕过雌性减数分裂（无融合生殖）和次级胚乳核的受精而不使未减数的卵细胞受精（孤雌生殖）。控制这些过程的潜在遗传因素和机制尚未完全确定。发展对这两种模式的工作理解本身就具有潜在价值，但综合考虑，它们为实现种子介导的无融合生殖提供了可能性。我们建议部署和优化Khanday et al.（2019）的概念验证水稻模型，以在大麦中提供合成无融合生殖，这反过来又将支持在其他具有重要商业意义的复杂作物（如小麦）中的进一步工作。我们将寻求改进水稻系统，目的是提高无融合生殖后代的比例，使其达到商业上可行的水平。这将通过正向遗传学方法进行补充，该方法使用无融合生殖牧草Eragrostis curvula作为基因靶标的来源，该基因靶标也将在大麦中进行验证。该项目利用了大量的前期工作和数据，以及在植物繁殖，新育种技术，转化平台和应用于作物遗传学的生物信息学方面具有特别突出记录的团队的优势。鉴于NIAB和合作者在该领域的最新突破和进展，有一个独特的机会为理解无融合生殖做出实质性贡献。

项目成果

From tetraploid to diploid, a pangenomic approach to identify genes lost during synthetic diploidization of Eragrostis curvula.

• DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1133986
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
• 影响因子: 5.6
• 作者: Carballo, Jose;Bellido, Andres Martin;Selva, Juan Pablo;Zappacosta, Diego;Gallo, Cristian Andres;Albertini, Emidio;Caccamo, Mario;Echenique, Viviana
• 通讯作者: Echenique, Viviana

Meeting the Challenges Facing Wheat Production: The Strategic Research Agenda of the Global Wheat Initiative

• DOI: 10.3390/agronomy12112767
• 发表时间: 2022-11
• 期刊: Agronomy
• 作者: P. Langridge;M. Alaux;N. Almeida;K. Ammar;M. Baum;F. Bekkaoui;A. Bentley;B. Beres;B. Berger;H. Braun;G. Brown-Guedira;Christopher James Burt;Mario Jose Caccamo;L. Cattivelli;G. Charmet;P. Civáň;S. Cloutier;J. Cohan;Pierre J. Devaux;F. Doohan;M. Dreccer;M. Ferrahi;S. Germán;S. B. Goodwin;S. Griffiths;C. Guzmán;H. Handa;M. Hawkesford;Zhonghu He;E. Huttner;T. Ikeda;B. Kilian;I. King;J. King;J. Kirkegaard;J. Lage;J. Le Gouis;S. Mondal;E. Mullins;F. Ordon;J. I. Ortiz-Monasterio;H. Özkan;İ. Öztürk;S. Pereyra;C. Pozniak;H. Quesneville;M. Quincke;G. Rebetzke;Jochen Christoph Reif;Teresa Saavedra-Bravo;U. Schurr;S. Sharma;S. Singh;R. Singh;J. Snape;W. Tadesse;H. Tsujimoto;R. Tuberosa;Tim G. Willis;Xueyong Zhang

Eragrostis curvula, a Model Species for Diplosporous Apomixis.

• DOI: 10.3390/plants10091818
• 发表时间: 2021-08-31
• 期刊: Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
• 作者: Carballo J;Zappacosta D;Selva JP;Caccamo M;Echenique V
• 通讯作者: Echenique V

Differential Methylation Patterns in Apomictic vs. Sexual Genotypes of the Diplosporous Grass Eragrostis curvula.

• DOI: 10.3390/plants10050946
• 发表时间: 2021-05-10
• 期刊: Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
• 作者: Carballo J;Zappacosta D;Marconi G;Gallardo J;Di Marsico M;Gallo CA;Caccamo M;Albertini E;Echenique V
• 通讯作者: Echenique V