Functional Analysis of Selected Genes in Maize

PI：John F.Doebley(威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校)合作者：David M.Wills(威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校)农作物是选择性育种的产物，植物育种者在这个过程中选择提供有用特征的基因变异，以及对抗带来有害特征的变异。通常情况下，数百个基因一直是单一作物物种选择育种的目标。在过去的十年里，在玉米的驯化和改良过程中，大约有80个基因被专门确定为育种的目标。目前还不清楚为什么这些玉米基因的变种在选择育种中特别受青睐，部分原因是不知道这些基因变种会影响哪些有利的性状。识别受基因变异影响的特定性状，对于理解玉米如何能够如此广泛地适应全球不同的条件非常重要。此外，这些信息增加了进一步适应性选择的可能性，这一过程可能在未来需要，因为气候变化要求作物采取新的生长战略。该项目解决了使用三种方法确定为什么以及如何在玉米中选择变种的问题。首先，将检验80个玉米基因中每一个的选择和未选择变异的基因表达差异，基因表达是基因活性的一种形式。结果将表明，选择是否有利于基因表达水平较高或较低的变种。其次，将对选定的四个玉米基因进行详细分析，以确定它们控制哪些性状，重点是与产量、收获和对环境的适应有关的农艺性状。第三，将确定四个选定基因的突变，并对突变进行遗传研究，以了解基因功能。这些研究应该为玉米如何成为世界上产量最高的农作物之一提供遗传学解释。了解遗传多样性如何产生农艺多样性，对于提高玉米在不断变化的世界中的农业表现是必要的。玉米也是培训学生和未来的育种者了解进化、遗传学和农业过程的极好的模式作物。作为威斯康星大学综合生物科学暑期研究项目(IBS-SRP)的一部分，本科生将接受玉米多样性研究方面的指导。IBS-SRP为来自不同背景的学生提供了研究机会，从而提供了可能在其他方面无法获得的科学研究入门。项目产生的数据将在项目网站(www.panzea.org)和玉米遗传数据库(www.maizegdb.org)上查阅。该项目开发的所有种子库存将通过位于http://maizecoop.cropsci.uiuc.edu.的玉米遗传合作库存中心获得

PI: John F. Doebley (University of Wisconsin - Madison)Collaborator: David M. Wills (University of Wisconsin - Madison)Crop plants are the products of selective breeding, a process whereby plant breeders select for gene variants that confer useful traits and against variants that confer detrimental traits. Generally, hundreds of genes have been the targets of selective breeding in a single crop species. Over the last decade, approximately 80 genes have been specifically identified as targets of breeding during the domestication and improvement of maize. It is not clear why variants of these maize genes were particularly favored by selective breeding, in part because it is not known what favorable traits are affected by the gene variants. Identifying the specific traits influenced by a gene variant is important to understanding how maize has been able to adapt so widely to diverse conditions across the globe. Further, this information increases the potential for further adaptive selection, a process likely needed in the future as climate change demands new growth strategies in crops. This project addresses the problem of identifying why and how variants have been selected in maize using three approaches. First, differences in gene expression, a form of gene activity, will be examined in selected and unselected variants for each of the 80 maize genes. The results will indicate whether selection favored variants with higher or lower levels of gene expression. Second, four of the selected maize genes will be analyzed in detail to determine which characteristics they control, focusing on agronomic traits related to yield, harvest and adaptation to the environment. Third, mutations in the four selected genes will be identified and the mutants studied genetically to understand gene function.These studies should provide genetic explanations for how maize has become one of the most productive agricultural crops worldwide. Understanding how genetic diversity generates agronomic diversity is necessary to improve the agricultural performance of maize in a changing world. Maize is also an excellent model crop for training students and future breeders in understanding the processes of evolution, genetics, and agriculture. Undergraduate students will be mentored in maize diversity research as part of the Integrated Biological Sciences Summer Research Program (IBS-SRP) at the University of Wisconsin. The IBS-SRP provides research opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds, thus providing an introduction to scientific research that may not be otherwise available. Data generated by the project will be available at the project website (www.panzea.org) and the Maize Genetics Database at www.maizegdb.org. All seed stocks developed by the project will be available via the Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center at http://maizecoop.cropsci.uiuc.edu.