Molecular Genetic Analysis of Carpel Development in Arabidopsis

9631458鲍曼谷物、豆类、坚果和被子植物的水果提供了人类和牲畜消费的很大一部分食物。这些产品最终都来自于花的雌性生殖器官--心皮。心皮是在花发育过程中通过许多基因的作用而产生的。这个项目的目的是确定心皮发育的基本分子和遗传机制。由于所有被子植物都可能通过克隆和鉴定模式物种拟南芥中的相关基因来利用一组共同的调控基因，鲍曼博士可以将所获得的知识应用于具有重要商业价值的作物物种。通过基因工程改变心皮的大小、数量、结构和成熟度最终将成为可能。这种对作物物种的操纵可能会导致我们食物供应的数量和多样性的改善。

9631458 Bowman Cereals, legumes, nuts, and fruits of angiosperms provide a large portion of the food that is consumed by both humans and livestock. Each of these products is ultimately derived from carpels, the female reproductive organs of the flower. Carpels are generated in developing flowers through the action of many genes. The aim of this project is to identify the basic molecular and genetic mechanisms by which the development of carpels is directed. Since all angiosperms are likely to utilize a common set of regulatory genes, by cloning and characterizing the relevant genes in the model species Arabidopsis, Dr. Bowman can apply the knowledge gained to commercially important crop species. Genetically engineered changes in sizes, numbers, structure and rate of maturity of carpels will eventually be possible. Such manipulations in crop species may lead to improvements in the amount and diversity of our food supply.