Evolution of B-GATA transcription factors in land plants

本项目旨在了解陆地植物中B类GATA转录因子的生物学和进化。被子植物的B类GATA被细分为HAN或LLM域。虽然LLm-结构域已经存在于藻类B-GATA中，但HAN-结构域是陆地植物特有的发明。我的实验室最近发现，苔藓植物Marchantia Polyphia和Physcomitrium patens中的B-GATA含有HAN-和LLM-结构域。这使得我们现在能够研究HAN和LLM域B-GATA的演化史，调节保守和发散生物过程的保守性和发散性，以及这两个蛋白结构域对B-GATA功能的贡献。具体地说，我建议在这里研究以前已知的GATA功能的进化保守性，并利用生理学分析结合转录学和遗传学更详细地分析它们在氮和细胞分裂素反应中的新角色。利用Marchantia和Physcomitrium B-GATA基因突变体，我建议研究LLM-和HAN-结构域在生物学背景中的作用和相互依赖。

This project aims at understanding the biology and evolution of B-class GATA transcription factors in land plants. Angiosperm B-class GATAs are subdivided into HAN- or an LLM-domain. Whereas the LLM-domain is already present in algal B-GATAs, the HAN-domain is a land plant-specific invention. My laboratory recently discovered that B-GATAs from the bryophytes Marchantia polymorphia and Physcomitrium patens contain HAN- and LLM-domains. This puts us now in the position of studying the evolutionary history of HAN- and LLM-domain B-GATAs, the conservation and divergence in regulating conserved and divergent biological processes, as well as the contribution of the two protein domains to B-GATA function. Specifically, I propose here to study the evolutionary conservation of previously known GATA functions and to analyse their new roles in nitrogen and cytokinin responses in great detail using physiological analyses in combination with transcriptomics and genetics. Using Marchantia and Physcomitrium B-GATA gene mutants I propose to examine the role and interdependence of the LLM-and HAN-domains in the biological context.