Understanding the mechanisms of developmental regulation by Arabidopsis Armadillo-related proteins.

了解拟南芥犰狳相关蛋白的发育调节机制。

• 批准号: BB/D007550/1
• 负责人: Juliet Coates
• 金额: $ 33.24万
• 依托单位: University of Birmingham
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2006 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FD007550%2F1
• 关键词: Understanding; mechanisms; developmental; regulation; Arabidopsis

All multicellular organisms, whether animals, plants, fungi or protozoa, are composed of groups of cells with diverse forms and functions. I am interested in how cells within an organism become different from each other and acquire specialised functions during the process of multicellular development. Each cell in an organism contains the same total genetic material in its nucleus. However, the way the genetic material is regulated (which individual genes are turned on and off) differs between cell types. Cells acquire particular fates within an organism, such as muscle cells or leaf cells, by responding to signals from their environment. These signals tell them which genes to turn on and off, and therefore which proteins to make. The process of being multicellular has a great degree of molecular conservation. Related genes and proteins often perform the same function in quite unrelated organisms. My particular interest is in the Armadillo protein family. These proteins specify cell fates during animal development, and also in a non-animal, the social amoeba Dictyostelium. This suggests that the function of Armadillo proteins arose very early during the evolution of multicellular organisms. I have shown that proteins related to Armadillo are present in the plant kingdom. Using Arabidopsis, mouse-ear cress, as a model, I have shown that Arabidopsis Armadillo proteins affect root development. A plant's root system is made up of a primary root that emerges from the germinating seed, and of lateral roots that branch from the primary root throughout the plant's life. Arabidopsis Armadillo proteins promote root branching, which occurs when cells within the main root divide to produce a new, lateral, root. The shape of a plant's root system is critical for plant growth. Roots allow the plant to take up water and nutrients from the soil, allowing the shoot that we see above ground to grow. Although the actual developmental process being regulated by plant Armadillo proteins is not the same as in animals (animals do not have roots!), it is quite possible that at the small scale, the molecular mechanisms by which plant Armadillo proteins function are conserved with animals and amoebae. Arabidopsis Armadillo proteins are found in the nucleus of cells, like their animal relatives. I plan to understand how Arabidopsis Armadillo proteins perform their cellular role by looking in detail at where they localise to within cells, what other proteins they interact with, and how these interacting proteins modify Arabidillo function. By uncovering the mechanisms of Arabidopsis Armadillo protein function in plants I will provide a new understanding of how root development occurs. Root architecture must be dynamic, for plants to respond to changes in environmental conditions, such as water and nutrient availability. Thus, Arabidopsis Armadillo proteins affect a process of relevance to agriculture, not just to a laboratory experiment. Understanding these proteins' functions will suggest ways of making plants better-adapted to coping with changes in the environment in which they grow.

所有多细胞生物，无论是动物、植物、真菌还是原生动物，都是由具有不同形态和功能的细胞群组成的。我感兴趣的是，在多细胞发育的过程中，生物体内的细胞如何变得彼此不同，并获得专门的功能。生物体中的每个细胞在其细胞核中含有相同的全部遗传物质。然而，基因物质的调节方式（单个基因的开启和关闭）因细胞类型而异。细胞通过对来自环境的信号作出反应，在生物体中获得特定的命运，例如肌肉细胞或叶细胞。这些信号告诉它们打开和关闭哪些基因，从而产生哪些蛋白质。多细胞的过程具有很大程度的分子保守性。相关的基因和蛋白质往往在完全不相关的生物体中执行相同的功能。我特别感兴趣的是犰狳蛋白家族。这些蛋白质在动物发育过程中指定细胞命运，在非动物的社会性变形虫盘基骨柱中也是如此。这表明犰狳蛋白的功能在多细胞生物的进化过程中很早就出现了。我已经证明了与犰狳有关的蛋白质存在于植物界。用拟南芥，鼠耳衣，作为模型，我已经证明了拟南芥犰狳蛋白影响根的发育。植物的根系由发芽的种子产生的主根和贯穿植物一生的主根分支的侧根组成。拟南芥犰狳蛋白促进根分支，这发生在主根内的细胞分裂产生新的侧根时。植物根系的形状对植物的生长至关重要。根允许植物从土壤中吸收水分和养分，使我们在地面上看到的芽得以生长。虽然由植物犰狳蛋白调控的实际发育过程与动物不同（动物没有根！），但在小尺度上，植物犰狳蛋白发挥作用的分子机制很可能与动物和变形虫一样保守。拟南芥犰狳蛋白存在于细胞核中，就像它们的动物亲戚一样。我计划通过详细观察拟南芥犰狳蛋白在细胞内的定位，与其他蛋白质相互作用，以及这些相互作用的蛋白质如何改变拟南芥的功能，来了解它们是如何发挥细胞作用的。通过揭示拟南芥Armadillo蛋白在植物中的功能机制，我将为根系发育的发生提供新的认识。根系结构必须是动态的，以便植物对环境条件的变化做出反应，例如水和养分的可用性。因此，拟南芥犰狳蛋白影响与农业相关的过程，而不仅仅是实验室实验。了解这些蛋白质的功能将为植物更好地适应其生长环境的变化提供方法。

项目成果

AtMYB93 is a novel negative regulator of lateral root development in Arabidopsis.

• DOI: 10.1111/nph.12879
• 发表时间: 2014-09
• 期刊: The New phytologist
• 作者: Gibbs DJ;Voß U;Harding SA;Fannon J;Moody LA;Yamada E;Swarup K;Nibau C;Bassel GW;Choudhary A;Lavenus J;Bradshaw SJ;Stekel DJ;Bennett MJ;Coates JC
• 通讯作者: Coates JC

The New Optimists: Scientists View Tomorrow's World & What it Means to Us

新乐观主义者：科学家对明天世界的看法

• 发表时间: 2010
• 作者: Richards, Keith