Study the mechanisms of histone deacetylases -HD2s for drought response in plants

在真核生物中，核小体是染色质的功能单位。核小体由DNA和组蛋白组成，DNA包裹在组蛋白八聚体上，组蛋白八聚体含有两个拷贝的组蛋白H2 A、H2 B、H3和H4。组蛋白的N-末端尾部经常进行不同的翻译后修饰，如乙酰化。组蛋白乙酰化由组蛋白乙酰转移酶（HAT）和组蛋白脱乙酰酶（HDAC）控制。组蛋白脱乙酰酶是一组古老的酶，广泛存在于各种生物体中。研究表明，HDAC控制着植物中一系列重要的生物学过程，特别是植物发育和对环境胁迫的反应。植物含有一组特定的HDAC，HD2。HD 2s与其他HDAC家族在结构上几乎没有相似性，并且似乎HD 2s在植物中很保守。研究表明，控制HD2的表达可以提高植物对某些非生物胁迫的耐受性。目前，关于HD2如何调节基因表达以响应环境胁迫的分子机制知之甚少。在本研究中，我们将以拟南芥为模式植物，进行一系列的研究，以了解植物中HD2在响应非生物胁迫的不同方面的功能。我们将研究植物中不同HD2的基因表达模式。然后，我们将揭示不同的HD2成员响应干旱胁迫的关系。HD 2s参与脱落酸（阿坝）介导的非生物反应途径将被研究。最后，我们将揭示HD 2s调控的应激反应基因，并探讨HD 2s如何调控应激反应基因。我们的长期研究目标是揭示不同类型的HDACs在植物响应环境胁迫中调控基因表达的见解和机制。从研究中产生的结果和知识可用于开发植物和作物的非生物胁迫耐受性。

In eukaryotes, the nucleosome is the functional unit of chromatin. The nucleosome consists of DNA and histone proteins and DNA wraps on the histone octamer that contains two copies of histone H2A, H2B, H3 and H4. The N-terminal tails of histone proteins are often subjected to different posttranslational modifications, such as acetylation. Histone acetylation is controlled by histone acetyltransferases (HAT) and histone deacetylases (HDACs). Histone deacetylases are an ancient group of enzymes that are widely present in various organisms. Research has shown that the HDACs control a range of important biological processes in plants, especially plant development and response to environmental stresses. Plants contain a specific group of HDACs, HD2s. HD2s show little similarity in structure with other HDAC families and it appears HD2s are well conserved in plants. Research has indicated that control of HD2 expression can increase plant tolerance to certain abiotic stress. At this time, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of how HD2s regulate gene expression in response to environmental stresses. In this research, we will use Arabidopsis as model plant and conduct a series of research to study different aspects of HD2 functions in plants in response to abiotic stresses. We will study gene expression patterns of different HD2s in plants. We will then reveal the relationship of different HD2 members in response to drought stress. The involvement of HD2s in abscisic acid (ABA)-mediated abiotic responsive pathway will be investigated. Finally, we will reveal HD2s regulated stress response genes and investigate how HD2s regulate stress response genes. Our long term research goals are to reveal the insights and mechanisms of different types HDACs in regulating gene expression in plant response to environmental stresses. The results and knowledge generated from the research can be used for development of plants and crops for abiotic stress tolerance.