Investigating terpene metabolism in Medicago truncatula

这项研究的重点是了解植物如何根据不同的环境线索产生化学物质。所获得的知识将增加对植物专门代谢物的生物合成途径的基本理解，这些代谢物在植物通讯和防御中具有重要功能。因此，它还具有提高作物抗灾能力和农业生产力的潜力。豆类是为人类和动物提供大量蛋白质的重要作物，也是促进可持续性的种植系统的重要组成部分。该项目研究了豆科植物，特别是模式豆科植物紫花苜蓿如何产生萜类化合物，这是一种重要的化学物质，可以对各种环境压力做出反应。为了实现这一目标，将培养一个由本科生、博士生和博士后学者组成的学生团队，开展以发现和生化分析萜类化合物组成部分相关基因为中心的项目。同时，研究人员将产生不再能够产生选择萜烯的遗传系，以探测这些化学物质的直接生态生理重要性。这项工作将为豆类作物的研究提供信息资源。与研究领域相关的主题被纳入本科生物化学实验课，以及一个针对初高中学生的专注于可视化化学物质的短模块。豆类因其农艺、营养和环境效益而成为重要的作物。了解影响其产量和质量的因素是十分必要的。植物产生多种专门的代谢物以确保适应其生态位。萜类化合物是一类主要的特殊代谢物，在基因与环境的相互作用中起着重要作用，这在水稻和玉米等农作物中得到了证明。然而，萜类化合物在豆科植物中的多样性、进化及其可能的生态生理意义仍然相对未知。具体而言，本项目侧重于通过系统发育和生化分析来实验定义基因与萜类化合物代谢物的关系。它还通过评估(a)生物压力在选择基因敲除中的影响，研究了萜烯在应对环境压力中的重要性。提高对萜烯素的认识将使人们了解化学反应的分子决定因素，这是了解提高作物抗逆性的途径。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 focus of this research is to understand how plants produce chemicals in response to different environmental cues. The knowledge attained will augment basic understanding of the biosynthetic pathways for plant specialized metabolites which have important functions in plant communication and defense. It therefore also has the potential to improve crop resilience and agricultural productivity. Legumes are important crops providing a significant portion of protein in human and animal diets and are also essential in cropping systems contributing to sustainability. This project examines how legumes, in particular the model legume Medicago truncatula produces terpenoids, important chemicals that respond to diverse environmental stresses. To accomplish this goal a team of students comprised of undergraduates, doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars will be trained to carry out projects centered on discovery and biochemical analysis of genes involved in the building blocks of terpenoids. Concurrently, the researchers will generate genetic lines that are no longer capable of producing select terpenes to probe the direct eco-physiological importance of these chemicals. This work will provide an informative resource for research in crop legumes. Topics related to the research area are incorporated into an undergraduate biochemistry laboratory class as well as a short module focused on visualizing chemicals targeted at middle and high school students. Legumes are important crops because of their agronomic, nutritional and environmental benefits. It is imperative to understand factors that influence their yield and quality. Plants produce a diverse array of specialized metabolites to ensure adaptation to their ecological niche. Terpenoids, a major class of specialized metabolites, play an important role in gene-by-environment interactions, as demonstrated in agricultural crops such as rice and maize. However, terpenoid diversity, evolution and possible ecophysiological significance remains relatively unknown in legumes. Specifically, this project focuses on the experimental definition of gene to metabolite relationship of the terpenome through phylogenetic and biochemical analysis. It also examines the importance of terpenes in response to environmental stress through assessment of the effect of (a)biotic stresses in select genetic knockouts. Improved knowledge of the terpenome will give insights to molecular determinants of chemical responses which are an avenue for insight into improving crop resilience.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.