Serotonin in Morphogenesis: re-discovery of an ancient molecule

形态发生中的血清素：重新发现一种古老分子

• 批准号: RGPIN-2018-04204
• 负责人: Saxena, Praveen
• 金额: $ 2.4万
• 依托单位: University of Guelph
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=685016
• 关键词: Serotonin; Morphogenesis; re; discovery; ancient

Over the last 20 years my research program has focused on understanding the role of melatonin (Mel) in plant morphogenesis, development, and adaptation in changing environments. For instance, studies conducted by my research team have implicated Mel in vegetative growth and development, senescence, sexual reproduction, and protection against environmental stresses including cold and light. While a wealth of information pertaining to the regulatory role of Mel in plants has been generated over the last 50 odd years, few works have specifically investigated the role of its metabolic precursor serotonin (Ser) during morphogenesis, or its relationship to plant responses to stress. Given recent observations towards Mel ability to mitigate cold stress in plants, the overall objective of the proposed DG will be to examine in greater detail Ser relationship to the Mel pathway and other plant growth regulators in mediating physiological events incurred during cold stress, as there is little information available for this compound.******A combination of chemical analysis, gene expression studies and microscopy coupled with quantum dot labeling technologies will be employed to investigate the putative role of Ser during cold stress. This approach is unique in that it does not investigate a single step in the action of Ser, but instead will examine the function of this compound at both the cellular and whole plant level allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of this unique phytohormone. This is particularly relevant as both location and mechanism of action are unknown for Ser, though limited information is currently available for Mel.******A novel aspect of this research is the hypothesis that Ser acts independently of Mel during plant responses to stress. While a plethora of studies have investigated the role of Mel in plants, many of these works do not simultaneously examine Ser or the tryptophan pathway in full, which in turn has left many unanswered questions regarding the exact function of these molecules as well their relationship during plant responses to stress. This proposal aims to untangle the current mystery by applying recent advances from my research program, coupled with new approaches of live-imaging, phytochemical profiling and manipulation of plant life in controlled environments. These results have important implications for Canadian agriculture as this work can provide novel screening parameters for identification of cold tolerant plants as well as introducing a potential role for enhancing plant resistance in the field through target application of tryptophan metabolites, including Ser. This research lays the groundwork for diverse applications including identification and introduction of stress tolerant crops or at-risk species, which promotes not only conservation and diversity, but also food security through expansion of viable habitats and growing regions.

在过去的20年里，我的研究项目一直专注于了解褪黑激素（Mel）在植物形态发生，发育和适应不断变化的环境中的作用。例如，我的研究团队进行的研究表明，梅尔与植物生长和发育、衰老、有性生殖以及对包括寒冷和光照在内的环境压力的保护有关。虽然在过去的50多年里，已经产生了大量的信息有关的Mel在植物中的调节作用，很少有工作专门研究其代谢前体血清素（Ser）在形态发生过程中的作用，或其与植物对胁迫的反应。鉴于最近对Mel缓解植物冷胁迫能力的观察，拟议DG的总体目标将是更详细地研究Ser与Mel途径和其他植物生长调节剂在介导冷胁迫期间发生的生理事件中的关系，因为该化合物的可用信息很少。结合化学分析，基因表达研究和显微镜加上量子点标记技术将被用来调查推定的作用，丝氨酸在冷胁迫。这种方法的独特之处在于它不研究Ser作用中的单个步骤，而是在细胞和整个植物水平上研究这种化合物的功能，从而更全面地了解这种独特的植物激素。这是特别相关的，因为Ser的位置和作用机制都是未知的，尽管目前可用于Mel的信息有限。这项研究的一个新的方面是假设，丝氨酸的行动独立的梅尔在植物对胁迫的反应。虽然大量的研究已经调查了Mel在植物中的作用，但这些工作中的许多工作并没有同时全面检查Ser或色氨酸途径，这反过来又留下了许多关于这些分子的确切功能以及它们在植物对胁迫的反应期间的关系的未回答的问题。这项提案旨在通过应用我的研究计划的最新进展，结合实时成像，植物化学分析和在受控环境中操纵植物生命的新方法，解开当前的谜团。这些结果对加拿大农业具有重要意义，因为这项工作可以为鉴定耐寒植物提供新的筛选参数，并通过色氨酸代谢物的靶向应用，包括Ser，在田间引入增强植物抗性的潜在作用。这项研究为多种应用奠定了基础，包括鉴定和引入耐胁迫作物或风险物种，这不仅促进保护和多样性，而且通过扩大可行的生境和种植区域促进粮食安全。