CAREER: Plant Organ Size and Identity Controlled By Brassinosteroids

CAREER项目开发了玉米植物类固醇活性分析的研究和教育计划。调控植物结构是提高作物产量的最有效途径。传统育种通过植株高度、分枝和性别决定等性状来提高产量。一类被称为油菜素内酯（BRs）的植物类固醇激素最近被确定为生长调节剂，在细胞分裂和伸长中起重要作用。它们对果实形成、叶片发育、种子定子和发芽等发育过程也很重要。该项目的长期目标是分析BRs对玉米植株生长和性别决定的作用。玉米是研究性别决定和植物结构的一个特别合适的对象，因为雄性（分蘖）和雌性（穗）的单性花在同一株植物上形成，并且通过育种使茎结构改变为一个主要不分枝的中心茎。利用来自玉米研究界的资源以及普渡大学产生的植物材料的遗传方法可以表征BR生物合成突变体及其信号网络。该项目整合了遗传学、基因组学和细胞方法来研究玉米植物激素反应的网络。了解控制植物生长和分化的主要调控过程，可以操纵重要作物的所需性状，以改善食品、饲料和生物燃料的生产。该奖项的另一个目标是提高未来科学家的沟通技巧，这对于公众理解和接受往往复杂的科学过程和结果至关重要。该教育计划将开发一个由十个部分组成的“数字植物科学图书馆”，用于支持本科生的正式课堂学习。它还被设计为初高中学生的招聘工具和非正式学习工具。这项活动将为交流和学习植物科学以及提高科学素养开辟新的途径。通过这项活动，学生将获得传统课程中没有的领域的独特专业知识。

The CAREER project develops a research and educational program on the analysis of plant steroid activity in maize. Manipulation of plant architecture is the most effective way to improve yield in crops. Traditional breeding has increased yield through traits such as plant height, branching and sex determination. A class of plant steroid hormones called brassinosteroids (BRs) has recently been identified as growth regulators, which play an important role in cell division and elongation. They are also important for developmental processes such as fruit formation, leaf development, seed set, and germination. The long-term goal of this project is to analyze the role of BRs on plant growth and sex determination in maize. Maize is a uniquely suited object for investigations of sex determination and plant architecture as unisexual flowers of male (tiller) and female (ear) sex are formed on the same plant and the stem architecture has been changed through breeding to a mainly unbranched central stem. A genetic approach employing resources from the maize research community as well as plant material generated at Purdue University allows the characterization of BR biosynthesis mutants and their signaling network. This project integrates genetic, genomic, and cellular approaches to investigate the network of phytohormone responses in maize. Understanding the main regulatory processes that control plant growth and differentiation allows the manipulation of desired traits in important crops, to improve food, feed and biofuel production.Another goal of this CAREER award is to improve the communication skills of future scientists, which is essential for public understanding and acceptance of often-complicated scientific processes and results. The educational plan will develop a ten-part "Digital Plant Science Library", which will be used to support formal classroom learning of undergraduate students. It is also designed to serve as recruiting tool for middle and high school students and for informal learning. This activity will open up new paths for communicating and learning about plant science and increasing scientific literacy in general. Through this activity, students will gain a unique expertise in fields not part of their traditional curricula.