EDGE TT: Genetic Transformation of Broadleaf Plantain (Plantago major) and Narrowleaf Plantain (Plantago lanceolata)

车前属植物有250多种，分布于世界各地，其中许多因其药用特性和减少土壤和水中有毒重金属的能力而引起人们的广泛兴趣。车前草也被广泛用作基础和应用农业相关研究的实验模型系统。例如，车前是第一批用于研究雄性不育的物种之一，雄性不育是一种重要的生殖特征，已被用于作物改良。尽管其在经济和科学上具有重要意义，但对于车前来说，缺乏有效的现代分子工具，这是一个严重的瓶颈，阻碍了对未来作物改良所需的过程和潜在调控机制以及基本发现的深入了解。该项目旨在通过开发高效的植物转化方法，为基因功能的遗传检测提供工具。该项目的更广泛影响包括向更广泛的植物研究社区广泛传播协议和其他项目成果，以及通过参与普渡大学现有的项目，让高中生，特别是那些来自科学领域代表性不足的群体的学生参与和培训。车前属具有许多独特的特征，导致了一系列令人兴奋的发现，从143年前对雄性不育的最初观察和描述，到专注于阐明植物中糖运输的独特方面的研究，以及最近维管系统对矿物质缺乏的反应。在过去的二十年里，世界各地的大量研究小组进行了转录组、蛋白质组、代谢组学和生化研究，并确定了数千个可能参与车前属不同生物学过程的候选基因和蛋白质。本项目旨在通过建立广泛应用的宽叶车前和狭叶车前的高效转化方法，促进车前基因功能的直接检测。这两个物种之所以被选为模式系统，是因为它们受到车前研究界的欢迎，它们的倍性(2x)较低，基因组大小较小，以及它们适合进行基因改造。所有协议和资源都将通过项目网站、公开提供的视频、多份出版物和现场培训讲习班免费向公众提供和查阅。该项目由生物科学局的通过基因组工具实现发现(EDGE)和植物基因组研究计划(PGRP)共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

More than 250 species in the Plantago genus are distributed throughout the world, many of which are of broad interest because of their medicinal properties and their ability to reduce toxic heavy metals from soil and water. Plantago species are also widely used as experimental model systems for both basic and applied agriculturally-relevant research. For example, Plantago was one of the first species used to study male sterility, an important reproductive trait that has been exploited for crop improvement. Despite its economic and scientific importance, efficient modern molecular tools for Plantago are lacking and represent a significant bottleneck that hampers efforts to provide an in-depth understanding of the processes and underlying regulatory mechanisms and the fundamental discoveries necessary for future crop improvement. This project aims to provide the tools for genetically testing gene function through the development of efficient plant transformation methods in Plantago. Broader impacts of the project include the wide dissemination of protocols and other project outcomes to the broader plant research communities and the engagement and training of high school students, particularly those from underrepresented groups in science, through participation in existing programs at Purdue. The Plantago genus has many unique features that have led to a series of exciting discoveries, from the initial observation and description of male sterility 143 years ago to studies focused on elucidating unique aspects of sugar transport in plants, and more recently the involvement of vasculature in response to mineral deficiency. In the last two decades, a large number of research groups over the world have conducted transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, and biochemical studies and identified thousands of candidate genes and proteins that likely participate in the diverse biological processes observed in the Plantago genus. This project aims to advance the direct testing of gene function in Plantago by establishing efficient transformation methods in two widely used Plantago species, broadleaf (P. major) and narrowleaf (P. lanceolata) plantains. These two species were chosen because of their popularity as model systems by the Plantago research community, their low ploidy (2x) and small genome sizes, as well as their amenability to genetic modification. All protocols and resources will be made freely available and accessible to the public through a project website, a publicly available video, multiple publications and on-site training workshops. This project is co-funded by the Enabling Discoveries through Genomic Tools (EDGE) and the Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) in the Directorate for Biological Sciences.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.