Optimising the development of the energy grass Miscanthus through manipulation of flowering time

通过控制开花时间优化能源草芒草的发育

• 批准号: BB/E014682/1
• 负责人: Angela Karp
• 金额: $ 7.37万
• 依托单位: Rothamsted Research
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2007 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FE014682%2F1
• 关键词: Optimising; development; energy; grass; Miscanthus

To combat climate change, it is necessary to use less energy and replace more of the energy we use with renewable sources. Furthermore, there is an over dependence on imported fossil fuels, putting future fuel security at risk. A number of renewable energy sources exist (for example, biomass, wind, solar, marine) and it is widely predicted that in the future no one form will dominate, in other words there will be a mixed energy economy. Biomass from energy crops are an important part of the renewable energy mix because in addition to being able to provide electricity and heat through combustion, biomass can be used to make transport fuels, chemicals and building materials. Miscanthus is a perennial grass and an ideal energy crop because it combines the fast growth rate of a tropical grass such as sugarcane with a tolerance to grow at UK temperatures. Furthermore it requires little to no fertiliser or herbicide inputs and produces a high yield of biomass every year. However as Miscanthus is a new crop, previous basic research has been extremely limited so that little is know about the regulation of growth and development. This proposal seeks to start addressing this deficit by investigating the molecular basis of flowering. To help in this we will exploit technologies developed for, and knowledge of flowering in, model organisms such as Arabidopsis thaliana, rice and maize. Flowering has been chosen because it is the characteristic identified as most likely, when optimised, to maximise yield quickly. For example it is highly desirable for plants to flower as late as possible to increase the length of the growing season and therefore photosynthesise for longer to produce more biomass. However flowering is also desirable to trigger senescence which is a critical process by which nitrogen and other resources are mobilised to the rhizome, the part of the plant below ground. This can be very important because some plant constituents, principally potassium and chloride are corrosive or form corrosive compounds when combusted and cause damage to energy generation equipment. The commercially grown variety of Miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus), is a naturally occurring hybrid between two species, Miscanthus sacchariflorus and Miscanthus sinensis. However flowering appears to be controlled differently in the parental species so that Miscanthus sacchariflorus flowers when the daylength is less than 12 hours but Miscanthus sinensis flowers when sufficient warm days have been experienced. The hybrid only very rarely flowers under UK conditions and is sterile. Therefore in this project we aim to identify the genes most likely to be involved in flowering time in the two parents of Miscanthus x giganteus. Research on model organisms has identified over 40 genes implicated in flowering time and the equivalent genes in Miscanthus will be identified and tested for an equivalent role. This will enable the development of DNA-based molecular markers for flowering which can be used in the UK Miscanthus breeding programme. Use of molecular markers will help with the optimisation and prediction of flowering time in young plants rather than having to wait three years for plants to gain maturity. It will also help in the selection of parent plants for new crosses. The information gained from this project will help to increase biomass yields in Miscanthus more quickly. This will therefore mean that more carbon will be fixed in a smaller area of land, and in addition improve farm economics, decrease pressure on other forms of land use, increase UK fuel security and most importantly reduce global carbon dioxide emissions.

为了应对气候变化，有必要减少能源使用，并用可再生能源替代更多的能源。此外，过度依赖进口化石燃料，使未来的燃料安全面临风险。存在多种可再生能源（例如生物质、风能、太阳能、海洋能源），人们普遍预测，未来没有一种形式将占据主导地位，换句话说，将会出现混合能源经济。来自能源作物的生物质是可再生能源组合的重要组成部分，因为除了能够通过燃烧提供电力和热量外，生物质还可用于制造运输燃料、化学品和建筑材料。芒草是一种多年生草本植物，也是一种理想的能源作物，因为它结合了甘蔗等热带草本植物的快速生长速度和在英国温度下生长的耐受性。此外，它几乎不需要肥料或除草剂投入，并且每年产生高产量的生物质。但由于芒草是一种新作物，以往的基础研究极其有限，对其生长发育的调控知之甚少。该提案旨在通过研究开花的分子基础来开始解决这一缺陷。为了帮助实现这一目标，我们将利用为拟南芥、水稻和玉米等模式生物开发的技术和开花知识。选择开花是因为它被认为是最有可能在优化后快速最大化产量的特征。例如，非常希望植物尽可能晚地开花，以增加生长季节的长度，从而延长光合作用时间以产生更多的生物量。然而，开花也有利于引发衰老，这是一个关键过程，通过该过程，氮和其他资源被调动到根茎（植物的地下部分）。这一点非常重要，因为一些植物成分，主要是钾和氯化物，具有腐蚀性或在燃烧时形成腐蚀性化合物，并对发电设备造成损坏。商业种植的芒草品种（Miscanthus x giganteus）是两种芒草（Miscanthus sacchariflorus）和芒草（Miscanthus sinensis）的天然杂交种。然而，亲本物种的开花控制似乎不同，因此芒草在日照长度小于 12 小时时开花，而芒草在经历足够温暖的白天时开花。这种杂交品种在英国的条件下很少开花，而且是不育的。因此，在这个项目中，我们的目标是鉴定最有可能参与芒草两个亲本开花时间的基因。对模式生物的研究已经鉴定出 40 多个与开花时间有关的基因，芒草中的等效基因也将被鉴定并测试其等效作用。这将有助于开发基于 DNA 的开花分子标记，可用于英国芒草育种计划。使用分子标记将有助于优化和预测幼苗的开花时间，而不必等待三年才能成熟。它还将有助于选择新杂交的亲本植物。从该项目中获得的信息将有助于更快地提高芒草的生物量产量。因此，这意味着更多的碳将固定在较小的土地面积上，此外还可以改善农业经济，减少其他形式的土地利用的压力，提高英国的燃料安全，最重要的是减少全球二氧化碳排放。

项目成果

Modeling long-term yield trends of Miscanthus×giganteus using experimental data from across Europe

使用欧洲各地的实验数据模拟芒草的长期产量趋势

• DOI: 10.1016/j.fcr.2013.05.004
• 发表时间: 2013
• 期刊: Field Crops Research
• 影响因子: 5.8
• 作者: Lesur C