Alternative Splicing of Duplicated Genes in Polyploid Brassica napus

多倍体是一种具有额外一组染色体的生物体，在植物中很常见，许多农作物都是多倍体。多倍体的形成通常涉及两个物种之间的杂交(杂交)，然后是染色体加倍。多倍体可以导致新的形态和发育特征，更大的细胞尺寸，以及新的基因功能和表达模式。我的研究计划的长期目标是了解多倍体对复制基因的进化、表达、剪接和功能的影响。我们研究最近进化的多倍体植物，以及来自数百万年前发生的古代多倍体事件的基因，以确定重复基因进化的长期结果。这项研究计划的目的是了解多倍体对基因表达的影响，重点是RNA剪接(选择性剪接)对环境胁迫条件的反应模式。甘蓝型油菜多倍体将与其二倍体亲本甘蓝型油菜和甘蓝进行比较。压力治疗将包括高温、寒冷、干旱和盐分。为了研究每种胁迫处理对RNA表达和剪接的影响，将使用高通量方法对RNA进行测序，提供完整转录本(亚型)的序列。这些数据将用计算方法进行分析。这项拟议的研究将深入了解多倍体中重复基因之间转录异构体的差异，并揭示多倍体与其二倍体亲本物种的比较。此外，还将分析Brassica谱系进化历史中由更古老的多倍体复制的基因中的RNA剪接模式，以评估转录异构体在较长期进化时间尺度上的变化。这项研究可能会对植物基因组学、植物分子生物学和分子进化等领域产生影响。一些重复的基因在指定植物的重要农艺性状方面起着作用。复制基因中的一些RNA剪接模式可能与植物育种中选择的性状有关。特别是，多倍体油菜(Brassica Napus)对加拿大的经济和粮食供应非常重要，通过研究油菜中的RNA剪接所获得的知识可能会导致这种作物的改良。

Polyploids, organisms with an extra set of chromosomes, are common among plants and many crop plants are polyploids. The formation of polyploids often involves hybridization (crossing) between two species followed by chromosome doubling. Polyploidy can lead to novel morphological and developmental characteristics, larger cell sizes, and new gene functions and expression patterns. The long-term goals of my research program are to understand the consequences of polyploidy on the evolution, expression, splicing, and function of duplicated genes. We study evolutionarily recent polyploid plants, as well as genes derived from ancient polyploidy events that occurred millions of years ago to determine the long-term outcomes of duplicate gene evolution. The goal of this research proposal is to understand the consequences of polyploidy on gene expression with a focus on patterns of RNA splicing (alternative splicing) in response to environmental stress conditions. Brassica napus (canola) polyploids will be compared with their diploid parental species, B. rapa and B. oleracea. Stress treatments will include heat, cold, drought, and salt. To examine the effects of each stress treatment on RNA expression and splicing, the RNA will be sequenced with a high-throughput method that provides sequences of entire transcripts (isoforms). The data will be analyzed with computational approaches. The proposed research will provide insights into differences in transcript isoforms between duplicated genes in the polyploids, as well as reveal how the polyploids compare with their diploid parental species. In addition, RNA splicing patterns in genes duplicated by a much older polyploidy during the evolutionary history of the Brassica lineage will be analyzed to assess changes in transcript isoforms on a longer-term evolutionary time scale. This research is likely to have an impact on the fields of plant genomics, plant molecular biology, and molecular evolution. Some duplicate genes play a role in specifying traits of agronomic importance in plants. Some RNA splicing patterns in duplicated genes may be involved in conferring traits selected for during plant breeding. In particular, polyploid canola (Brassica napus) is very important to Canada's economy and food supply and what is learned from studying RNA splicing in canola may lead to improvement of this crop plant.