RESEARCH-PGR: Genomic and Synthetic Approaches Linking Auxin Signaling to Functional Domains in Maize

想象一下植物的任何特征--从芽和根的发育到对环境和害虫的反应--几乎肯定是由植物生长激素生长素塑造的。植物细胞具有检测生长素并对其做出反应的能力。因此，表征参与检测和响应的分子组成的网络将提高我们对多种生长素效应的理解。该项目的主要目标是确定玉米中生长素调控的分子网络，玉米是美国重要的经济作物。确定这些网络在玉米雄穗生长和发育中所起的作用，将有助于制定提高产量的策略。来自美国四所不同大学的一组科学家将使用最现代的生物技术进行这项工作。这项工作将从根本上改变玉米发育生物学的面貌，并将显著加快知识从实验室到田间的转移。这项工作的结果将公之于众。研究团队坚定地致力于指导不同的未来科学家群体，并提高广泛的科学素养。该项目将举办讲习班，旨在扩大本科生、研究生和博士后实习生的专业技能。来自这四个机构的科学家将合作开发涉及动手实验的培训模块。这些单元将专门针对来自K-12学校、大学和广大公众的受众。本项目解决了发育生物学的一个基石：生长素的作用如何通过信号组件的特定上下文部署来指定，特别是生长素如何控制生殖器官发生。研究小组成员积累了丰富的玉米遗传、基因组和分子资源，以回答腋生分生组织如何启动以形成雄穗和穗中的生殖结构的问题。先前的工作表明，生长素信号机制的组成部分在花序内的三个功能域中表达：受抑制的苞叶、边界区和腋生分生组织。将生长素信号模块与组织水平的事件联系起来，将需要详细了解哪些相互作用发生在特定的组织和特定的时间。这一挑战将通过一种高度集成的方法来应对，该方法将基因组和合成生物学工具与复杂的信息学和数据可视化结合在一起。具体地说，该项目将：1)确定和表征在花序功能区域内工作的生长素信号模块(受体、阻遏因子、转录因子)；以及2)构建包含共表达基因和生长素信号模块靶标的基因调控网络。

Imagine any characteristic of plants - from development of shoots and roots to responses to the environment and pests - and it is almost certainly shaped by the plant growth hormone, auxin. Plant cells have the ability to detect and respond to auxin. Thus, characterizing the network of molecular components that involved in detection and response will improve our understanding of the multiple auxin effects. The primary goal of this project is to identify the auxin-regulated molecular networks in corn, an economically important crop in USA. Characterizing the roles these networks play in the growth and development in the tassel and ear of corn will help devise strategies to improve yields. A team of scientists from four different American universities will carry out this work using the most modern biological techniques. This work will fundamentally change the landscape of developmental biology in corn, and will significantly accelerate the transfer of knowledge from the lab to the field. Results from this work will made publically available. The research team is strongly committed to mentoring a diverse group of future scientists and to increasing broad scientific literacy. This project will organize workshops aimed at expanding the professional skillsets of undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral trainees. Scientists from the four institutions will collaborate to develop training modules that will involve hands-on experimentation. These modules will specifically target audiences from K-12 schools, colleges, and the public at large.This project addresses a cornerstone of developmental biology: how auxin action is specified by context-specific deployment of signaling components, and in particular, how auxin controls reproductive organogenesis. Team members have amassed a wealth of genetic, genomic and molecular resources in maize to answer the question of how axillary meristems are initiated to give rise to the reproductive structures in the tassel and ear. Prior work has shown that components of the auxin signaling machinery are expressed in three functional domains within the inflorescence: the suppressed bract leaf, the boundary domain, and the axillary meristem. Connecting auxin signaling modules with tissue-level events will require a detailed understanding of which interactions occur in specific tissues and at specific times. This challenge will be met with a highly integrated approach incorporating genomic and synthetic biology tools with sophisticated informatics and data visualization. Specifically, this project will: 1) define and characterize the auxin signaling modules (receptors, repressors, transcription factors) operating within functional domains of the inflorescence; and 2) construct gene regulatory networks incorporating co-expressed genes and targets of the auxin signaling modules.