Collaborative proposal: Regulation of pre-mRNA splicing by light signals

对光的感知是植物与环境相互作用以改变生长和最大限度地捕捉阳光的最基本方式之一。这个项目将研究光敏色素感受器感知的环境光信号如何调节基因表达，从而影响植物的生长和生产力。该项目将优先从代表性不足的群体中培训下一代科学家，他们将在开发农业生物技术新工具以改善粮食安全、人类健康和环境可持续性方面获得相当多的经验。教育工具包的开发和传播将极大地扩大高中生接受科学研究的教育机会。在当地K-12学校的生物课上进行演讲，不仅将向年轻学生传授转基因生物(GMO)，还将改善参与研究人员的沟通和教学技能。这将使一群不同的K-12学生接触到现代研究设施，以一种有趣和迷人的方式向他们介绍科学方法，并激励他们选择一条科学的职业道路。该项目将阐明鲜为人知的光敏色素在转录和转录后水平上调节基因表达的机制。选择性剪接(AS)是一个高度调控的过程，它增强了基因组中编码的mRNAs的多样性。该小组以前的工作表明，这一过程也受到光信号的影响，光信号通过光感受器光敏色素B(PhyB)介导，从而提供了一种新的机制，植物可以通过它来快速响应光信号。该项目的目标是：1)了解SFPS-RRC1-SWAP1剪接模块调控剪接的生化机制；2)研究PhyB如何在光下通过SFPS-RRC1-SWAP1模块调控剪接。该项目将使用生化、分子、遗传和基因组方法来阐明光敏色素直接影响对光的选择性剪接的早期事件。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。

The perception of light is one of the most fundamental ways that plants interact with the environment to alter growth and maximize capture of sunlight. This project will address how environmental light signals perceived by the phytochrome photoreceptors regulate gene expression to affect plant growth and productivity. This project will train the next generation of scientists preferentially from underrepresented groups, who will gain considerable experience in developing new tools in agricultural biotechnology to improve food security, human health, and environmental sustainability. Development and dissemination of educational toolkits will greatly expand educational opportunities to high school students in scientific research. Presentations in biology classes of local K-12 schools will not only teach young students about genetically modified organisms (GMOs), but also improve communication and teaching skills of participating researchers. This will expose a diverse group of K-12 students to a modern research facility, introduce them to the scientific method in a fun and engaging way and inspire them to choose a scientific career path.This project will elucidate poorly understood mechanisms by which phytochromes regulate gene expression at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. Alternative splicing (AS) is a highly regulated process that enhances the diversity of mRNAs encoded in the genome. Previous work by this group showed that this process is also affected by light signals mediated through the photoreceptor phytochrome B (phyB), thereby providing a novel mechanism by which plants can rapidly respond to light signals. The goals of the project are to: 1) Understand the biochemical mechanisms of regulation of splicing by the SFPS-RRC1-SWAP1 splicing module, and 2) Investigate how phyB regulates splicing through the SFPS-RRC1-SWAP1 module under light. The project will use biochemical, molecular, genetic and genomic approaches to elucidate the early events by which phytochromes directly affects alternative splicing in response to light.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.