EAGER: Developing Chemical Probe Technologies to Explore Glycolipid Exchange Between Camellia sinesis (Tea) and Associated Microbes

有了这个奖项，化学部的生命过程化学项目资助了加州大学戴维斯分校的Jacquelyn Gervay-Hague博士研究对茶树可持续生长至关重要的植物和微生物相互作用。土壤微生物通过分解有机物质和提供磷和氮等必需营养素来促进植物的健康。这种自然交换还没有得到很好的理解，部分原因是农场环境的复杂性，其中包含各种各样的微生物。 该项目中先进的组织培养方法和化学探针合成的创新通过关注所涉及的化学因子而不是大量的微生物来简化问题。 学生和博士后学员在环境控制的无微生物环境中繁殖茶树，其中所有化学投入都进行了测量。 在这种环境中生长的植物被喂食化学化合物，这些化合物被设计用于容易地分离和鉴定转化的物质。 在自然环境中生长的植物也暴露于相同的探针，综合数据分析揭示了这些环境之间的差异。 这些研究为表征微生物对茶树健康和可持续性的贡献提供了化学基础。 茶是世界上除水之外消费最广泛的饮料。 这是一个数十亿美元的进口业务在美国，其中不到100英亩的农场目前。 如果能够建立可持续的种植方法，美国种植的茶叶的潜力代表了一个重要的经济机会。 通过加州大学戴维斯分校全球茶叶倡议，这些研究的结果将传达给全球茶叶社区以及美国的茶农，他们被邀请参加实地考察和研讨会，以最大限度地将知识转移到农业社区。这项研究承担了茶树（茶）的微繁殖，以建立无微生物组织培养（TC）标本，用于化学分析研究。对无菌TC的各个生长阶段进行分析，并与暴露于微生物的自然环境中生长的克隆进行比较。这些植物被喂食化学合成的探针，这些探针被功能化以使得能够用高灵敏度质谱法和核磁共振检测进行代谢下拉。 学员学习目标和非目标分析，以区分植物和微生物的代谢途径。 综合数据分析，包括主成分分析，旨在揭示重要的代谢关系，并为开发协同和有益的植物和微生物环境提供知识，促进美国种植的茶叶的生长，健康和可持续性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

With this award, the Chemistry of Life Processes Program in the Chemistry Division is funding Dr. Jacquelyn Gervay-Hague from The University of California at Davis to study plant and microbe interactions important for the sustainable growth of Camellia sinensis (Tea). Soil microorganisms contribute to the health of plants by breaking down organic matter and providing essential nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen. This natural exchange is not well understood, partly due to the complexity of farm settings, which host a wide variety of microorganisms. The tissue culture methods and innovations in chemical probe synthesis advanced in this project simplify the problem by focusing on the chemical actors involved, rather than vast numbers of microorganisms. Student and postdoctoral trainees propagate tea plants in environmentally controlled microbe-free environments where all chemical inputs are measured. Plants growing in this setting are fed chemical compounds that are designed for easy isolation and identification of transformed substances. Plants growing in natural settings are also exposed to the same probes and integrated data analyses reveal differences between these environments. Together, these studies provide a chemical basis for characterizing microbial contributions to the health and sustainability of tea plants. Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world, besides water. It is a multi-billion dollar import business in the US, where less than 100 acres are currently farmed. The potential for US-grown tea represents an important economic opportunity, if sustainable growing methods can be established. Through the UC Davis Global Tea Initiative, the results of these studies will be communicated to the Global Tea community as well as US-based tea farmers who are invited for field days and seminars in order to maximize knowledge transfer to the farming community.This research undertakes micro-propagation of Camellia sinensis (tea) to establish microbe-free tissue culture (TC) specimens for chemical profiling studies. Various growth stages of aseptic TC are profiled and compared to clones being grown in natural environments with exposure to microorganisms. The plants are fed chemically synthesized probes that are functionalized to enable metabolic pull-down with high sensitivity mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance detection. Trainees learn both targeted and untargeted analysis to differentiate plant and microbial metabolic pathways. Integrated data analyses, including principal component analysis, is implemented to reveal important metabolic relationships and to provide knowledge for developing synergistic and beneficial plant and microbial environments that promote the growth, health and sustainability of US grown tea.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.