Mechanisms of Salt Actived Photosynthesis Gene Expression in Alfalfa

光合作用效率是植物界生物能产生的基本分子基础。PI的实验室已经开发出一种实验系统，可以在相似的遗传背景下操纵光合作用相关基因的协调基因表达。实验系统由耐盐紫花苜蓿细胞系和由这些细胞系再生的耐盐植株组成，这些细胞系在盐胁迫条件下表现出增强的光合作用基因表达。PI建议确定导致这些基因产物积累的基本分子机制以及它们在细胞水平上的耐盐行为中的作用。这些基础生物学实验的结果将增加对光合作用基因表达的重要调控特征的理解。这些实验还将为理解光合作用相关功能在植物对盐的敏感性和耐受性中的更多应用作用提供一个模型系统。

Photosynthetic efficiency is the fundamental molecular basis for biological energy generation in the plant world. The PI's laboratory has developed an experimental system which allows the manipulation of coordinate gene expression of photosynthesis related genes in a similar genetic background. The experimental system consists of salt tolerant alfalfa cell lines and salt tolerant plants regenerated from these cell lines that show enhanced photosynthesis gene expression under salt stress conditions. The PI proposes to identify the basic molecular mechanisms which lead to the accumulation of these gene products and their role in the salt tolerant behavior at the cellular level. The results from these basic biological experiments will increase understanding of important regulatory features in photosynthesis gene expression. These experiments will also provide a model system for understanding the more applied role of photosynthesis related functions in salt sensitivity versus tolerance in plants.