种子发育过程中氮素的"源""库"间有效运输对大豆产量性状的形成具有重要影响。模式植物中的研究表明：氨基酸透性酶（Amino Acid Permease，AAP）家族的不同成员分别在氨基酸从土壤中的吸收、根部合成氨基酸向"库"的长距离运输、氮素再动员过程"源器官"中氨基酸的韧皮部装载、种子发育过程中氨基酸的输入等过程发挥重要作用，对AAP家族成员的调控直接影响种子发育和产量与品质性状的形成，但对大豆AAP家族成员的分离鉴定及功能分析均未见报告。本课题拟通过生物化学、分子生物学和分子遗传学等多种手段，深入分析大豆AAP家族主要成员的生化性质、表达特点和生物学功能，解析大豆种子发育过程中氮素的"源""库"运输机制及其影响大豆产量性状形成的机理；探索通过协同调控叶片衰老与氮素由"源"向"库"的输送能力和输送效率来创制高产高效大豆新品种的理论依据并积累基因资源。

Nitrogen (N) is a significant determinant of plant growth and development. In many plant species, biomass and seed production are dependent on transport of amino acids from source to sink. For delivery to seeds, amino acids have to be loaded into the phloem, which takes place in source leaves or along the long distance transport pathway through xylem-phloem transfer. Accumulating evidence indicates that amino acid permeases (AAPs) play an important role in these N transport processes in model plants. However, to our knowledge, no identification and functional analysis of AAP family members in soybean have been reported. To gain insights into the mechanisms of nitrogen transport and their importance for development of soybean seeds, we proposed to isolate the key members of soybean AAP family and elucidate their roles in N partitioning by using a combination of biochemical, physiological, genetic and molecular techniques. The final goal is to develop tools for improving productivity and quality of soybean by manipulating N partitioning.