Use of An Insertional Mutant of Arabidopsis to Study Trichome Formation

本研究的长期目标是了解表皮细胞分化为植物毛（毛状体）的分子过程。具体目标包括：1)分离和表征阿拉伯芥茎毛状体发育所需的基因。2)探索毛状体基因作为转化标记的效用。3)分离和鉴定其他毛状体特异性基因。这项工作的起点是一个缺乏茎毛的拟南芥突变体。这个突变体是从一个用农杆菌转化的植物群体中分离出来的。由于突变很可能是由T-DNA插入引起的，因此T-DNA探针将有助于分离毛状体基因。其意义有三方面。首先，表皮细胞向毛状体的分化为细胞分化提供了一个相对简单的模型。其次，由于毛状体与诸如抗虫性、耐盐性和棉花品质等重要性状有关，对拟南芥毛状体形成的了解可能为如何操纵作物物种的毛状体以改善作物提供信息。最后，茎毛基因可能作为一个可见的转化标记。马克斯博士正在研究表皮细胞向植物毛（毛状体）的分化。这为研究细胞分化提供了一个相对简单的模型。由于毛状体与诸如抗虫性、耐盐性和棉花品质等重要性状有关，因此了解拟南芥（一种比重要的商业作物更适合研究的植物）毛状体的形成可能为如何操纵作物物种的毛状体以改善作物提供信息。

The long term goal of this proposal is to obtain an understanding of the molecular processes involved in the differentiation of an epidermal cell into a plant hair (trichome). The specific objectives include: 1) Isolate and characterize a gene required for elaboration of stem trichomes on Arabiopsis. 2) Explore the utility of the trichome gene as a marker for transformation. 3) Isolate and characterize other trichome specific genes. The starting point for this work is a mutant of Arabidopsis that lacks stem trichomes. This mutant was isolated from a population of plants that were transformed with Agrobacterium. Because the mutation is most likely induced by a T-DNA insert, the isolation of the trichome gene will be facilitated by a T-DNA probe. The significance is three fold. First, the differentiation of an epidermal cell into a trichome provides a relatively simple model for cell differentiation. Second, since trichomes are associated with important traits such as insect resistance, salt tolerance, and cotton quality, the understanding of trichome formation on Arabidopsis may provide information on how trichomes of crop species might be manipulated for crop improvement. Finally, the stem trichome gene may function as a visible transformation marker. %%% Dr. Marks is studying the differentiation of an epidermal cell into a plant hair (trichome). This provides a relatively simple model for studying cell differentiation. Since trichomes are associated with important traits such as insect resistance, salt tolerance, and cotton quality, the understanding of trichome formation on Arabidopsis (a plant more amenable to study than commercially important crops) may provide information on how trichomes of crop species might be manipulated for crop improvement.