Early Seed Development Under Stressful Environments

地球上97%的水是咸水，现有淡水存款的三分之二被锁在冰雪中，只留下1%供人类使用。由于大部分淡水用于种植粮食，随着干旱事件变得更加频繁和严重，气候变化将对我们的粮食供应构成挑战。因此，至关重要的是开发新一代作物，以减少淡水投入，维持生产力。该项目填补了我们对不利环境如何干扰种子发育并最终影响植物生产力的理解中的一个重大空白。由于谷物（如水稻、玉米和小麦）的种子是热量的主要来源，而水稻是谷物的既定模型，因此这项工作将侧重于干旱胁迫如何对水稻早期种子发育产生不利影响，导致种子大小减小。采用分子和生物化学方法，项目组将确定对正常种子发育至关重要的水稻基因，但其表达会因干旱胁迫而改变。这项工作将阐明种子，可以说是最重要的经济植物器官作为食物来源，感觉和适应不断变化的环境。该项目对于开发未来作物以缓解和适应气候变化至关重要。该项目将通过培训残疾人扩大STEM劳动力的参与。PI将与内布拉斯加大学林肯分校（UNL）的残疾学生办公室合作，招募和培训合格的个人参与项目研究活动。该项目还将为植物和土壤科学电子图书馆（一个科学教育材料的在线储存库）做出贡献，建立一个新的种子开发模块，供有学习障碍的学生使用。

Ninety-seven percent of Earth's water is saline and two-thirds of the existing fresh water deposit is locked away in snow and ice, leaving only one percent for human use. Since the majority of fresh water is used to grow food, the changing climate will challenge our food supply as drought events become more frequent and intense. Therefore, it is critical to develop a new generation of crops that can sustain productivity with reduced fresh water input. This project fills a significant gap in our understanding on how unfavorable environment perturbs seed development and ultimately affects plant productivity. Because seeds from cereals (such as rice, maize, and wheat) are the primary source of calories, and rice is an established model for cereals, this work will focus on how drought stress adversely affects early seed development in rice resulting in reduced seed size. Taking a molecular and biochemical approach, the project team will identify rice genes that are critical for normal seed development, but whose expression is altered by drought stress. This work will elucidate how seed, arguably the most economically important plant organ as food source, senses and adapts to a changing environment. This project will be important for developing future crops that are needed for mitigating and adapting to changing climate. The project will broaden participation in STEM workforce by training persons with disabilities. The PIs will work with the Office for Students with Disabilities at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) to recruit, and train qualified individuals into project research activities. This project will also contribute to The Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary, an online repository of science education materials, by building a new seed development module that is accessible for students with learning disabilities.