核孔复合物是真核细胞中细胞质与细胞核之间物质交换的重要桥梁；衰老是发育和环境等因素调控的重要生理过程。但目前在核孔复合物对植物衰老调控机制方面的认识非常有限。本实验室筛选到的拟南芥核膜孔蛋白Nup98a和Nup98b基因的双突变体，具有明显的早衰表型；初步研究表明，其表型与淀粉降解功能的缺陷有关。本项目在此基础上，利用现代生物学技术，深入研究拟南芥Nup98a/b基因的功能以及发育和环境信号对其功能的调控机制，并筛选Nup98a/b的运输分子（cargo）和下游调控基因，力图阐明Nup98a/b基因对植物衰老调控的作用机制。研究结果将揭示核孔蛋白Nup98的新功能。

Nuclear pore complex is the key bridge of substance communication, including mRNA and protein transportation, between nucleus and cytoplasm, while senescence is an important cellular progress sensing to developmental and environmental cues. However, the understanding on the regulation mechanism of nucleoporins on plant senescence is very limited. We obtain a nucleoporin nup98a nup98b double mutant in Arabidopsis, which shows significant early-senescence phenotype; further analysis indicates the early-senescence may result from the defect of starch degradation. In this proposal, based on our previous results, we try to elucidate the function of Nup98a and Nup98b on senescence and its molecular mechanism controlled by developmental and environmental cues, and then screen out their cargos and downstream genes. The results will reveal new functions of nuleoporins, Nup98a and Nup98b, and open a new field for plant senescence.