AUG1介导的自噬途径在水稻器官大小调控中的作用

水稻器官（如种子）大小是影响其产量的关键因素之一。因此，挖掘水稻器官大小的调控新因子和解析其作用的分子机理，具有极其重要的科学意义和应用价值。我们已发表的结果表明细胞自噬可能作用于细胞的增殖发育调控，但其机制尚不清楚。前期，通过进一步的筛选鉴定，我们发现细胞自噬基因Autophagy Gene 1（AUG1）的突变会导致水稻出现植株矮化，叶片变短，谷粒变小变短等表型；此外，我们还发现这些器官的细胞体积和数目均发生改变。值得一提的是，AUG1的突变亦导致水稻对植物激素的响应表现异常，这些结果暗示着细胞自噬途径极有可能协同激素等参与水稻器官大小（如细胞增殖）的调控。因此，本申请拟结合分子生物学、细胞生物学和多组学等技术手段，深入阐明AUG1的生物学功能，及其所介导的细胞自噬途径在作物器官大小调控中的作用机制，从而为遗传改良水稻重要农艺性状，提高产量和品质等提供一定的分子理论基础。

Organ size (in particular the grain) is one of the most important factors influencing rice yield. Thus, identification of novel regulators and the relevant regulatory mechanism is highly important to the rice production. Previously, we found that autophagy might participate in the regulation of cell profile. However, the molecular mechanism is poorly understood. Then, our further analysis demonstrated that the mutation of Autophagy Gene 1 (AUG1) resulted in dwarfism, shorten leaf and smaller grain in rice. Furthermore, we also found that the cell size and number, as well as the response of phytohormone, were significantly altered in the aug1 mutant, suggesting that autophagy might coordinate the phytohormone to regulate the organ size in rice. In this project, we intend to integrate the molecular biology, cell biology and omics approaches to further elucidate the biological function of AUG1 and the contribution of the AUG1-mediated autophagic pathway to the organ size development, eventually providing a new insight and strategy into the genetic improvement of agronomic traits and the promoting of yield and quality in rice.