Study the mechanisms of histone deacetylase HD2s in response to drought stress in plants

在真核生物中，核小体是染色质的基本功能单位。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。组蛋白乙酰化由催化超乙酰化的组蛋白乙酰转移酶（HAT）和通过从核心组蛋白去除乙酰基催化脱乙酰化的组蛋白脱乙酰酶（HDAC）调节。研究表明，HDAC控制着植物中的许多基本生物学过程，特别是植物发育和对环境胁迫的反应。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。植物含有一组特定的HDAC，HD2。HD 2s与其他HDAC家族在序列和结构上显示出低水平的相似性，并且似乎HD 2s在不同类型的植物中很保守。研究表明HD2参与植物对干旱等非生物胁迫的应答。目前，对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，利用分子生物学方法进行一系列研究，以研究植物对非生物胁迫，特别是对干旱的响应中HD2的不同方面。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和潜在的相互作用。HD 2s参与脱落酸（阿坝）介导的干旱响应途径进行了研究。此外，我们将研究HD2如何调节干旱反应基因。我们的长期研究目标是揭示HD 2s以及其他类型的HDACs在植物响应不同环境胁迫的基因表达调控中的见解和机制。从研究中获得的知识和发现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 basic and functional unit of chromatin. The nucleosome consists of DNA and histone proteins and DNA wraps on the histone octamer. The N-terminal tails of histone proteins are often subjected to different posttranslational modifications, such as acetylation. Histone acetylation is regulated by histone acetyltransferases (HAT) that catalyze hyper acetylation and histone deacetylases (HDACs) that catalyze deacetylation by removing the acetyl group from the core histones. Research has shown that the HDACs control a number of fundamental biological processes in plants, especially plant development and response to environmental stresses. Histone deacetylases are an ancient group of enzymes that are widely present in various organisms. Plants contain a specific group of HDACs, HD2s. HD2s show low levels of similarity in sequence and structure with other HDAC families and it appears HD2s are well conserved in different types of plants. Research has shown that HD2s involve in plant response to abiotic stresses, such as drought. Currently, 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 using molecular biology approaches to study different aspects of HD2 in plants in response to abiotic stresses, specifically, in response to drought. We will study gene expression patterns of different HD2s in plants. We will then reveal the relationship and potential interactions of different HD2 members in response to drought stress. The involvement of HD2s in abscisic acid (ABA)-mediated drought responsive pathway will be investigated. Moreover, we will study how HD2s regulate drought response genes. Our long term research goals are to reveal the insights and mechanisms of HD2s as well as other types HDACs in regulating gene expression in plant response to different environmental stresses. The knowledge and findings generated from the research can be used for development of plants and crops for abiotic stress tolerance.