Regulatory Networks during Developmental Phase Transitions and Abiotic Stresses

我实验室的研究重点是了解控制从胚胎发育到营养阶段过渡的分子机制。这一相变与休眠的打破和萌发的开始相一致。控制胚胎向营养阶段转变的机制知之甚少，尽管它们在世界范围内极大地影响作物产量。例如，现代农业中与种子休眠密切相关的一个问题是种子在收获前发芽（胎生），当时仍然附着在田间的母体植物上。这导致谷物质量下降和各种谷物的经济损失。因此，在不影响其他生长参数的情况下，在某些谷物品种中重新引入休眠有很大的兴趣。 我研究的另一个重要领域是了解植物在生殖发育和萌发过程中对非生物胁迫的反应，这极大地影响了植物的生产力，生长和健康。全球气候变化对植物应对快速变化的环境的能力构成了巨大的压力。温度和土壤盐分的突然和稳定增加不仅影响到植物和生殖发育，而且影响到种子发芽的能力。目前，这正在影响全球的农作物产量。 使用细胞，分子遗传学和基因组方法，我以前的研究已经发现了控制这些过程的新的调控机制。拟议的研究的目标是确定和表征新的重要因素，控制种子休眠和发芽过程中的非生物胁迫。最终，这项研究将培育出更能耐受植物逆境的植物。

Research in my laboratory focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that control the transition from the embryonic to the vegetative phase of development. This phase transition coincides with the break of dormancy and the onset of germination. The mechanisms controlling the embryonic-to-vegetative phase transition are poorly understood, despite the fact that they greatly affect crop yields worldwide. For instance, a problem in modern agriculture tightly linked to seed dormancy is pre-harvest sprouting of seeds (vivipary), when still attached to the mother plant in the field. This results in reduced grain quality and financial losses in a wide range of cereals. Therefore, there is great interest in reintroducing dormancy in certain cereal varieties without affecting other growth parameters. Another important area of my research involves understanding plant responses to abiotic stresses during reproductive development and germination, which greatly affect plant productivity, growth and fitness. Global climate change is posing an incredible pressure on plant's ability to deal with a rapidly changing environment. The sudden and stable increase in temperature and soil salinity is affecting not only vegetative and reproductive development, but also the ability of seeds to germinate. This is currently affecting crop yield world-wide. Using cellular, molecular genetic and genomic approaches, my previous research has uncovered new regulatory mechanisms controlling these processes. The goal of the proposed research is to identify and characterize new factors important for the control of seed dormancy and germination during abiotic stresses. Ultimately, this research will generate plants that are more tolerant to environental stresses.