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: University of Manitoba
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=763576
• 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（Oryza sativa）等作物的产量显著下降，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响应存在显著差异，因此，比较不同品种对干旱的响应机制可能有助于深入了解干旱响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）介导的，grn由蛋白质转录因子（TFs）及其靶基因调控区域的动态相互作用所定义。从生理学上讲，保护细胞是植物向大气流失水分的关键调节因子，并且已经提出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，了解细胞类型特异性grn是提高作物抗逆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，这种变化表现为TF活性和染色质可及性的变化；对其他物种的研究表明，在对整个叶片的研究中，保护细胞grn没有得到充分的代表，因此，我假设水稻的情况可能也是如此。我的长期目标是定义grn并确定在干旱响应中调节气孔功能的转录模块。具体目的：1)研究不同水稻品种的干旱响应grn。我将整合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，以确定与不同干旱反应表型相关的调控模块。2)保护细胞grn在干旱响应中的特征。我将使用高通量和低输入测序技术来研究分离的保护细胞的grn对干旱的反应。3)对目标1和目标2以及文献中确定的tf进行功能表征。我将使用基因组编辑技术（CRISPR-cas9）来检查目标1和目标2中确定的候选tf在干旱响应中的作用。提出的研究解决了基因调控网络如何决定生物体应对环境压力的能力的基本生物学问题。将对确定的候选作物的作用进行功能评估，为作物改良提供可能的候选作物。这些研究中使用的方法将产生生物学洞察力和分析能力，可应用于其他作物植物和其他环境压力。概述的研究是可行的，因为我有展示的专业知识和必要的合作来完成它们。该项目使用先进的实验和计算方法为系统生物学中的HQP提供了独特的培训机会。