U.S.-Mexico Cooperative Research: Effects of Glutamine Sythetase Null Mutations on Growth, Nodulations and N2 Fixation in Alfalfa

该奖项将支持Champa Sengupta-Gopalan教授， 新墨西哥州州立大学（NMSU）的研究合作 与固氮研究所的乔治娜埃尔南德斯教授 研究中心在库埃尔纳瓦卡，墨西哥。 的主要目标 这项研究是为了确定 增加的基础上，增加整体N2 固定，并增加苜蓿植物的生长， 根际土壤中的微生物是P. PV.烟粉虱 苜蓿是墨西哥和美国的主要饲料作物。 并且很好地适应了干旱和灌溉农业， nations. 对确切机制的理解， 影响共生固氮将允许 基因工程苜蓿植物的发展， 提高N2固定能力。 在这项研究中，各种 基因构建将在NMSU和库埃尔纳瓦卡进行， 将在两个实验室进行生物学试验。 此外，所有的生化表征的 变异植物将在洛斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室 实验室

This award will support Professor Champa Sengupta-Gopalan of New Mexico State University (NMSU) in a research collaboration with Professor Georgina Hernandez of the Nitrogen Fixation Research Center in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The main objective of the research is to determine the molecular and biochemical basis for the increased nodulation, elevated overall N2 fixation, and increased growth of alfalfa plants whose rhizospere is infested with the soil micro-organism P. syringae pv. tabaci. Alfalfa is a major forage crop in both Mexico and the U.S. and is well adapted to arid and irrigated agriculture in both nations. An understanding of the exact mechanisms that influence symbiotic nitrogen fixation will allow the development of genetically engineered alfalfa plants for increased N2 fixation capability. For this research, various gene constructs will be made at NMSU and Cuernavaca, and the nodulation biology will be performed at both laboratories. In addition, all the biochemical characterization of the mutant plants will be done at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.