I-Corps: Plant sterols as potential pre-emergent herbicides

I-Corps项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是提供低成本的杂草控制，同时改善环境和人类健康。即使采用最佳做法，杂草也会使农业产量减少60-75%。拟议中的除草剂是丰富的天然化学物质的组合，以不同的化学作用模式运作，因此它不会产生抗性，甚至可能有助于支持更强壮的植物。这项技术将有助于支持农业生产和盈利能力，其使用可能使粮食供应多样化。这个I-Corps项目是基于一种除草剂的发现，这种除草剂具有新的作用模式：当甾醇生物合成基因发生变化并通过突变或基因工程变得不活跃时，植物种子无法完成发芽；即使它们真的发芽了，它们的生长也会受到严重阻碍。通过将植物（或动物）甾醇作为甾醇生物合成的最终产物，在适当的包封剂中应用于发芽的种子，外源甾醇抑制种子甾醇的产生，从而导致总甾醇的减少，类似于基因失活的效果。外源甾醇的施用会引起或模仿几种不同的甾醇生物合成基因突变的影响，减少种子完全萌发，引起植物脉管系统的变化，并在种子萌发期间产生严重的矮化。这种影响是广谱的，单子叶和双子叶都有影响。此外，对已经发芽和正在积极生长的植物施用除草剂对其生长的影响很小或有益。有益的影响包括茎的轻微发育迟缓，这可能使作物更能抵抗风和冰雹的破坏。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并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，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to provide low-cost weed control while improving the environment and human health. Weeds can reduce farming yields by 60-75%, even when using best practices. The proposed herbicide is a combination of abundant natural chemicals operating with a different chemical mode of action, and thus it does not generate resistance, and may even help support stronger plants. This technology will help support farm production and profitability, and its use may diversify the food supply. This I-Corps project is based on the discovery of a herbicide that has new mode of action: when genes for sterol biosynthesis change and become inactive through mutation or genetic engineering, plant seeds do not complete germination; and if they do germinate, they have severely stunted growth. By applying plant (or animal) sterols that are final products of sterol biosynthesis in an appropriate encapsulation agent to germinating seeds, the exogenous sterols inhibit seed sterol production, thus causing a decrease in total sterols similar to the effects of gene inactivation. Application of exogenous sterols phenocopies or mimics the effects of mutation of several different sterol biosynthetic genes, reducing complete germination, causing changes in plant vasculature, and producing severe dwarfing when given during seed germination. This effect is broad spectrum, affecting both monocots and dicots. Furthermore, herbicide application to plants that have already germinated and are actively growing experience minimal or beneficial effects on growth. The beneficial effects include slight stunting of stems, which may make crops more resistant to wind and hail damage.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.