Intercepting CLAVATA receptor-like kinase function to engineer ear size in wheat.

确保持续的全球粮食安全将是21世纪的重大挑战，小麦约占人类总卡路里消耗量的20%(粮农组织，2017年)。在小麦等谷物中，花序(穗)的大小决定了产生的花(花)和籽粒的数量，而植物结构的这一方面受生长的茎尖中干细胞的活动调节。CLAVATA肽/受体样激酶信号通路在植物发育过程中保持干细胞库的大小，而玉米和番茄中的突变体由于干细胞库大小的增加而增加了产量。该项目旨在截获小麦CLAVATA信号，以培育出更肥沃的麦穗，从而提高产量。

Ensuring continuous global food security will be a major challenge of the 21st century, and wheat contributes approximately 20% of the total calories consumed by humans (FAO, 2017). In cereals like wheat, inflorescence (ear) size determines the number of flowers (florets) and grains produced, and this aspect of plant architecture is regulated by the activity of stem cells in the growing shoot tips. The CLAVATA peptide/ receptor-like kinase signalling pathway maintains the size of the stem cell pool during plant development, and mutants in maize and tomato have increased yields, arising due to an increase in size of the stem cell pool. This project aims to intercept wheat CLAVATA signalling to engineer ears with more fertile grain sites and increase yield.