S-locus receptor kinase signaling in self-incompatibility and pistil development

s位点受体激酶SRK最初被确定为柱头表皮细胞受体，由其同源花粉包被定位的SCR配体激活，并在自交不亲和（SI）反应中负责感知“自我”花粉。最近，研究人员在实验室开发的转基因拟南芥自交不亲和模型中对SI响应进行了诱变，结果表明SRK在雌蕊发育过程中也是一个信号分子，其不依赖于scr的活性促进花柱和子房的细胞增殖，从而增强雌蕊伸长并导致柱头外露。该项目将使用分子和遗传方法来研究细胞间相互作用的紧密整合，这种相互作用是SI中“自我”花粉排斥与整个雌蕊发育程序的基础。该研究有望确定细胞SRK信号传导能力所需的基因，花粉-柱头相互作用和雌蕊伸长之间的串扰基因，以及可能编码SRK信号级联成分的基因。该项目有可能改变目前对srk介导的信号传导、SI的进化以及SI与促进外育种的形态适应（如柱头外露）之间鲜为人知的联系的看法。更一般地说，这项研究将有助于回答生物体如何改变其发育程序以产生结构和功能上的新设计的关键问题。该项目将培养博士后研究人员，并为他们提供在高度互动和智力刺激的康奈尔环境中整合教学和研究的机会。pi致力于为本科生提供植物分子遗传学基本方法的研究经验和培训，无论是在nsf资助的项目框架内还是在正式的课程中。他们参与“教师实验室体验”课程，这是一门为硕士学生培训成为科学教师而设计的课程，也应该有助于将科学知识转移到小学和高中。

The S-locus receptor kinase SRK was initially identified as the stigma epidermal cell receptor that is activated by its cognate pollen coat-localized SCR ligand and is responsible for perception of 'self' pollen in the self-incompatibility (SI) response. Recently, mutagenesis of the SI response in a transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana self-incompatible model developed in the investigators' laboratory demonstrated that SRK also functions as a signaling molecule in pistil development, where its SCR-independent activity promotes cell proliferation in style and ovary, thus enhancing pistil elongation and causing stigma exsertion. The project will use molecular and genetic methods to investigate the tight integration of the cell-to-cell interactions that underlie rejection of 'self' pollen in SI with the overall pistil developmental program. The study is expected to identify genes required for a cell's competence for SRK signaling, genes responsible for cross-talk between pollen-stigma interactions and pistil elongation, and possibly genes encoding components of the SRK signaling cascade. The project has the potential to alter current views of SRK-mediated signaling, the evolution of SI, and the poorly-understood association between SI and morphological adaptations that promote out-breeding, such as stigma exsertion. More generally, the study will contribute to answering the key question of how organisms modify their developmental programs to generate novel designs in structure and function.The project will train post-doctoral researchers and provide them with opportunities to integrate teaching and research, within the highly-interactive and intellectually stimulating Cornell environment. The PIs are committed to providing undergraduate students with research experience and training in basic methods of plant molecular genetics, both within the framework of NSF-funded projects and in formal coursework. Their participation in 'Lab Experience for Teachers', a course designed for Masters students training to become science teachers should also contribute to the transfer of scientific knowledge into elementary and high schools.