Elucidating roles for poplar SNF1-related protein kinases(SnRK1) in dormancy-associated processes

休眠是温带林木和其他多年生植物为了抵御严酷的冬季条件而获得的一种适应。休眠通常是由与秋季相关的环境信号触发的，如白天缩短和温度降低，并伴随着一系列其他发育和生理事件，使植物能够抵御严寒的冬季条件，如芽形成、耐寒、耐寒和/或耐干燥，以及碳和氮资源的重新分配和贮藏储备的合成。较晚的休眠获取可能导致干燥或冷害、不可挽回的资源损失或其他负面后果，而较早的休眠获取会缩短生长季，降低植物的生产力。因此，休眠相关过程的分子调节器是植物生存、生长、生产力和适合性的潜在决定因素。令人惊讶的是，到目前为止，在任何植物物种中都只发现了几个与休眠相关的分子调控因子。我的研究计划的目标是发现和描述与林木休眠获得和越冬有关的过程的分子调节。由于一年生植物不能用来研究休眠，杨树是研究休眠相关调控的理想模型。我的实验室有新的证据表明，一组名为SnRK1的蛋白激酶可能参与调节杨树休眠相关的过程。我建议使用一些分子生物学和基因组学技术来发现杨树在休眠获得过程中受SnRK1调控的基因和蛋白质，并利用这些信息来识别从活跃生长到休眠转变过程中受SnRK1调控的过程。我还打算找出调节SnRK1的因素。总之，这些信息将为调节杨树等林木的休眠相关过程提供新的见解。

Dormancy is an adaptation that temperate zone forest trees and other perennials have acquired to withstand the harsh conditions of winter. Dormancy is usually triggered by autumn-associated environmental cues such as shortened daylength and lower temperatures, and is accompanied by a suite of other developmental and physiological events that allow the plant to withstand inclement winter conditions, such as bud formation, cold, freezing and/or desiccation tolerance, and carbon and nitrogen resource reallocation and storage reserve synthesis. Late dormancy acquisition may lead to desiccation or cold injury, irrevocable loss of resources, or other negative consequences, while early dormancy acquisition abbreviates the growing season and reduces plant productivity. Molecular regulators of dormancy-associated processes are thus potential determinants of plant survival, growth, productivity, and fitness. It is surprising that only a few dormancy-associated molecular regulators have been identified to date in any plant species. The goal of my research program is to discover and characterize molecular regulators of processes implicated in dormancy acquisition and overwintering in forest trees. Since annuals cannot be used to study dormancy, poplars are ideal models for investigating dormancy-associated regulators. My laboratory has new evidence that a group of protein kinases called SnRK1 may be involved in regulating dormancy-associated processes in poplar. I propose to use a number of molecular biology and genomics techniques to discover SnRK1-regulated genes and proteins in poplar during dormancy acquisition, and use this information to identify processes that are regulated by SnRK1 during this transition from active growth to dormancy. I also aim to identify factors that regulate SnRK1. Together, this information will provide new insight into regulation of dormancy-associated processes in forest trees such as poplar.