Molecular and genetic characterization of floral regulatory networks in maize

什么使植物开花？近一个世纪以来，植物生物学家一直试图回答这个问题，但直到最近，导致植物开花的信号的性质仍然是一个谜。早期研究的一个重要发现是，开花信号是在叶子中产生的，然后经过很长一段距离传到植物的中央嫩枝上，真正的花朵就是在那里形成的。我的研究用分子生物学、生物化学和基因组学的现代工具来解决这个问题。我们的研究重点是来自玉米（玉米）的对开花至关重要的基因。具有该基因正常拷贝（INDETERMINATE1或ID1）的玉米植株在正常时间开花，而具有缺陷ID1基因的突变玉米植株开花很晚，并开出具有叶子特征的花朵。我们克隆了ID1基因，并利用分子遗传学技术对其进行了表征。DNA序列表明，ID1通过制造一种叫做锌指的蛋白质起作用，这种蛋白质是其他基因的主要调节器。换句话说，ID1通过“开启”或“关闭”其他基因来导致玉米开花。这反过来又会影响植物的生长和对环境的反应。这项提议有两个主要目标：1)确定由ID1基因控制的基因，2)确定与ID1蛋白物理相互作用的其他蛋白质，帮助它执行其功能。知道了这一点，我们就能了解到植物在即将开花时发生的变化。最终，我们想要确定这些信号的生化成分，了解影响开花过程的代谢变化，并了解植物如何解释环境信号以在正确的时间开花。发现ID1的工作原理将有助于更好地了解所有植物如何控制它们的开花习性。控制植物何时开花或是否开花的能力对农业至关重要，因为植物协调开花以获得最佳的种子和果实产量。确定玉米及其近亲如水稻、小麦和甘蔗等植物是如何控制开花的，将有助于提高这些重要作物的产量。

What causes plants to flower? Plant biologists have been trying to answer this question for nearly a century but, until recently, the nature of the signals that cause plants to flower remained a mystery. One important discovery of early research is that flowering signals are produced in the leaves and then transported a long distance to the central shoot of the plant, where the actual flowers are made. My research addresses this question with the modern tools of molecular biology, biochemistry and genomics. The focus of our research is gene from corn (maize) that is critically important for flowering. Maize plants with a normal copy of this gene, called INDETERMINATE1 or ID1, flower at the usual time, whereas mutant maize plants with a defective ID1 gene flower very late and produce flowers with leafy characteristics. We cloned the ID1 gene and characterized it using molecular genetic techniques. The DNA sequence suggests that ID1 acts by making a protein, called a zinc finger, which is a master regulator of other genes. In other words, ID1 causes flowering in corn by turning other genes 'on' or 'off'. This in turn will affect how the plant grows and responds to its environment. There are two main goals of this proposal: 1) to identify genes that are controlled by the ID1 gene, and 2) to identify other proteins that physically interact with the ID1 protein help it carry out its function. Knowing this will give clues about the changes that go on in the plant when flowering is about to occur. Ultimately we would like to identify the biochemical components of these signals, to understand the metabolic changes that affect the flowering process, and to understand how plants interpret environmental signals to flower at the correct time. Discovering how ID1 works will lead to a better understanding of how all plants control their flowering habits. The ability to control when, or if, a plant flowers is of vital importance to agriculture because plants coordinate flowering for optimal seed and fruit production. Determining how plants like maize, and its relatives such as rice, wheat and sugar cane, control flowering will help to improve the productivity of these vital crop plants.