NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY22: Breaking the Symmetry: Dorsal-Ventral Domain Establishment in the Floral Meristem in Mimulus

这一行动为NSF 2022财年生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金，综合研究调查了基因组、环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训，这些研究员将以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。在花的正面和背面看起来形状相似的花称为两侧对称的花。这些形状的花是最常见的花卉形式之一(例如兰花和豆科植物)。在开花植物的进化过程中，至少有130次独立的向这种形式的转变，这些转变与特殊的花-传粉者相互作用和新植物物种的迅速出现有关。然而，定义这种花排列的分子机制却知之甚少，主要是因为在大多数具有双边对称花的系统中缺乏适当的功能工具。这个项目旨在通过采用一个新开发的模型系统--大紫猴花Mimulus lewisii来解决这个根本问题。从发展和演变的角度来看，这一项目的结果都将是重要的。此外，该项目将为本科生提供分子实验室培训机会，举办讲习班和出版物，向更广泛的科学界传播为这种花开发的资源，并向当地社区开展关于开花植物的多样性和重要性的外联活动。虽然众所周知，在许多类群中，沿背侧-腹侧(D-V)轴的差异器官发育是由依赖于CycloidEA(CyC)基因的发育程序控制的，但在最早的发育阶段是什么建立了D-V结构域，以及是什么激活了CyC在背侧区域的表达仍是未知的。这个项目将集中在两个改变了CyC表达模式的Lewisii突变株上，并将使用多种方法来表征CyC上游的潜在分子途径，包括使用遗传杂交来剖析关键调控基因之间的遗传关系；高分辨率实时成像来揭示基因表达模式的时空动态；以及免疫共沉淀来确定相互作用的蛋白质伙伴和下游的靶基因。这个项目的结果不仅对于理解花朵对称性是如何在最早的发育阶段建立的具有重要意义，而且对于理解花朵形态趋同进化的机制也是至关重要的。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2022, Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment and Phenotypes. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will contribute to the area of Rules of Life in innovative ways. Flowers that appear similar in shape in both the front and back of the flower are called bilaterally symmetrical. These shape of flower is one of the most common floral forms (e.g. orchids and legumes). During flowering plant evolution, there have been at least 130 independent transitions in to this form, and these transitions are associated with specialized flower-pollinator interactions and the rapid appearance of new plant species. The molecular mechanisms defining this flower arrangement, however, is poorly understood, mainly due to the lack of appropriate functional tools in most systems with bilaterally symmetric flowers. This project aims to address this fundamental question by employing a newly developed model system, the Great Purple Monkeyflower Mimulus lewisii. Results from this project will be important from both developmental and evolutionary perspectives. Moreover, this project will provide molecular lab training opportunities for undergraduate students, workshops and publications to disseminate resources developed for this flower to the broader scientific community, and outreach activities to local communities about the diversity and importance of flowering plants. Although it is well known that differential organ elaboration along the dorsal-ventral (D-V) axis in many taxa is controlled by a developmental program dependent on the CYCLOIDEA (CYC) gene, what establishes the D-V domains at the earliest developmental stage and what activates the expression of CYC specifically in the dorsal domain remain unknown. This project will focus on two M. lewisii mutants with altered CYC expression patterns and will use multiple approaches to characterize the underlying molecular pathways upstream of CYC, including using genetic crosses to dissect the genetic relationships among the key regulatory genes; high resolution live imaging to reveal the spatiotemporal dynamics of gene expression patterns; and co-immunoprecipitation to identify interacting protein partners and downstream target genes. Results from this project are not only significant for understanding how floral symmetry is established at the earliest developmental stages, but also crucial for understanding mechanisms underlying convergent evolution in floral forms.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.