Global gene regulatory networks and abiotic stress

全球基因调控网络和非生物胁迫

• 批准号: RGPIN-2016-04966
• 负责人: Wilkins, Olivia
• 金额: $ 2.62万
• 依托单位: McGill University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=668577
• 关键词: Global; gene; regulatory; networks; abiotic

Drought is a major threat to food security as it results in marked yield reductions in crops such as Asian rice (Oryza sativa), the staple food of 30% of the global population. However, diverse rice cultivars display markedly different responses to drought, thereby suggesting that a comparison of the mechanisms by which different cultivars respond to drought may offer insight into critical molecular factors required for drought response. Control of such responses is mediated through gene regulatory networks (GRNs), defined by the dynamic interactions of protein transcription factors (TFs) and the regulatory regions of their target genes. Physiologically, guard cells are key regulators of the rate at which plants lose water to the atmosphere and it has been suggested that regulation of these cells may be an important determinant of drought sensitivity of diverse cultivars. Thus understanding cell type specific GRNs is a promising avenue for improving crop resistance to environmental stress.***I hypothesize that natural variation in the drought tolerance of rice cultivars is determined by genomic changes that manifest as variation in TF activity and in chromatin accessibility; studies in other species suggest that guard cell GRNs are not adequately represented in studies of whole leaves and as such I hypothesize that this may also be the case for rice. My long term goal is to define GRNs and identify transcriptional modules that regulate stomatal function in response to drought.***Specific Aims:***1) Characterize drought-responsive GRNs in diverse rice cultivars. I will integrate my transcriptome and chromatin accessibility data with publicly available rice genome sequences to identify regulatory modules associated with divergent drought response phenotypes. ***2) Characterize guard cell GRNs in response to drought. I will use high throughput and low input sequencing technologies to investigate the GRNs of isolated guard cells in response to drought.***3) Functionally characterize TFs identified in Objectives 1 and 2 and from the literature. I will use genome-editing techniques (CRISPR-cas9) to examine the roles of candidate TFs identified in Aims 1 and 2 in the drought response.***The proposed studies address the fundamental biological question of how gene regulatory networks determine an organism's capacity to respond to environment stressors. The roles of the identified candidates will be functionally assessed providing possible candidates for crop improvement. The approaches used in these studies will generate biological insight and analytical capabilities that can be applied to other crop plants and other environmental stresses. The outlined studies are feasible as I have the demonstrated expertise and collaborations necessary to complete them. The project offers unique training opportunities for HQP in systems biology using advanced experimental and computational methods. **

干旱是粮食安全的主要威胁，因为它导致亚洲水稻等作物显著减产，而亚洲水稻是全球30%人口的主食。然而，不同的水稻品种对干旱的反应明显不同，这表明比较不同品种对干旱的反应机制可能有助于深入了解干旱反应所需的关键分子因素。这些反应的控制是通过基因调控网络(GRN)进行的，GRN由蛋白质转录因子(TF)及其靶基因的调节区之间的动态相互作用所定义。从生理上讲，保卫细胞是植物失水到大气中的关键调节细胞，有人认为这些细胞的调节可能是不同品种干旱敏感性的重要决定因素。因此，了解特定细胞类型的GRN是提高作物对环境胁迫抗性的一个有希望的途径。*我假设水稻品种抗旱性的自然变异是由基因组变化决定的，这些变化表现为TF活性和染色质可及性的变化；其他物种的研究表明，保卫细胞GRN在整个叶片的研究中不能充分代表，因此我假设水稻也可能是这样。我的长期目标是定义GRN并确定调节气孔功能以响应干旱的转录模块。*具体目标：*1)表征不同水稻品种对干旱的GRN。我将把我的转录组和染色质可及性数据与公开可用的水稻基因组序列相结合，以确定与不同的干旱反应表型相关的调控模块。*2)表征保卫细胞GRN对干旱的响应。我将使用高通量和低输入测序技术来研究独立保卫细胞对干旱的反应的GRN。*3)从功能上表征目标1和2以及文献中确定的转录因子。我将使用基因组编辑技术(CRISPR-CAS9)来研究目标1和目标2中确定的候选转录因子在干旱反应中的作用。*拟议的研究解决了基本的生物学问题，即基因调控网络如何决定有机体对环境压力的反应能力。将对确定的候选者的作用进行功能评估，为作物改良提供可能的候选者。这些研究中使用的方法将产生可应用于其他农作物和其他环境压力的生物学洞察力和分析能力。概述的研究是可行的，因为我拥有完成它们所需的证明的专业知识和合作。该项目利用先进的实验和计算方法为HQP提供了独特的系统生物学培训机会。**