2010 Projects: Molecular Genetics of Arabidposis

艾略特·M Meyerowitz提案编号0846192拟南芥的分子遗传学开花植物生长的干细胞称为顶端分生组织的集合。 当种子萌发时，有两个分生组织--根的顶端分生组织和茎的顶端分生组织，根从顶端分生组织生长，茎的顶端分生组织最终产生植物的整个地上部分。 Meyerowitz实验室开发了一套新的实时成像方法，用于研究茎尖分生组织中的细胞分裂和基因表达。这里提出的是一系列的研究，使用这些方法和植物遗传学，了解植物干细胞的两个方面。 第一个是任何植物组织产生新的茎尖分生组织的能力。 这一过程将被详细跟踪，从而了解植物组织中的模式化生长是如何起源的。 第二组研究将遵循植物激素细胞分裂素在生长芽顶端分生组织中的作用和感知，从而更好地理解这种植物激素在植物生长中所起的作用。这项工作的更广泛影响包括植物发育生物学研究生和博士后学者的教育。 此外，这些研究的结果和图像将用于教师培训方案，包括全国公认的“植物学基础”方案，在该方案中，教师为高中课堂开发了使用植物的实验室练习;加州理工学院的研究生和博士后学者可以在旧金山弗朗西斯科的探索馆学习六周，在暑期教师培训项目中教授高中和小学科学教师。 最后，应该指出，拟议研究的结果将导致控制植物生长的实际能力，这反过来将对农业作出贡献，对粮食和燃料供应产生影响，这是人类面临的两个重大问题

Elliot M. MeyerowitzProposal Number 0846192Molecular Genetics of Arabidopsis thalianaFlowering plants grow from collections of stem cells called apical meristems. When a seed germinates, there are two meristems-the root apical meristem from which the root grows, and the shoot apical meristem, which eventually gives rise to the entire above-ground part of the plant. The Meyerowitz laboratory has developed a set of new live-imaging methods for studying cell divisions and gene expression in shoot apical meristems. What is proposed here is a series of studies, using these methods and plant genetics, to understand two aspects of plant stem cells. The first is the ability of any plant tissue to give rise to a new shoot apical meristem. This process will be followed in detail, leading to an understanding of how patterned growth originates in plant tissues. The second set of studies will follow the effects and perception of the plant hormone cytokinin in growing shoot apical meristems, leading to better understanding of the role that this plant hormone plays in plant growth.The broader impacts of this work include the education of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in plant developmental biology. In addition, results and images from these studies will be used in teacher training programs, including the nationally recognized "Grounding in Botany" program, in which laboratory exercises using plants are developed by teachers for high school classrooms; and a program in which graduate students and postdoctoral scholars from Caltech spend up to six weeks at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, teaching high school and elementary science teachers in a summer teacher training program. Finally, it should be noted that the results of the proposed studies will lead to practical abilities to control plant growth, which in turn will be a contribution to agriculture with impact on supplies of food and fuel, two of the great problems facing humanity