The Effect of Manipulating Wheat Stomatal Development

这个项目建立在我们在气孔生物学方面的良好记录以及我们在遗传模式物种拟南芥(双子叶植物)气孔发育调控方面的发现基础上。以前BBSRC资助的一个学生证明了操纵拟南芥表皮图案因子(EPF)的表达降低了拟南芥的气孔密度，提高了抗旱性，并且对光合作用没有不利影响(Doheny-Adams等人)。2012年)。我们发现，叶片长度为一毫米之前形成的气孔数量决定了水分利用效率，随着水资源的有限和人口的持续增长，这一关键农艺性状变得越来越重要。小麦是一种重要的全球粮食作物，任何水分利用效率的提高都将对其可持续生长产生重大影响。然而，小麦是一种单子叶植物，具有不同类型的气孔(哑铃形而不是肾形)，我们对小麦控制气孔的途径一无所知。

This project builds on our strong track record in stomatal biology and our discoveries on the regulation of stomatal development in the genetic model species Arabidopsis thaliana (a dicotyledonous plant). A previous BBSRC-funded student demonstrated that manipulating the expression of Arabidopsis Epidermal Patterning Factor (EPF) reduces Arabidopsis stomatal density, improves drought tolerance, and has no detrimental effect on photosynthetic rate (Doheny-Adams et al. 2012). We showed that the number of stomata formed before the leaf is a millimeter in length determines water use efficiency, a key agronomic trait becoming increasingly significant as water resources are limited and the human population continues to rise. Wheat is an important global food crop and any improvement in water use efficiency would have significant impact on its sustainable growth. However, wheat is a monocotyledonous plant with a different type of stomata (dumb-bell rather than kidney shaped), and we know nothing about the pathways that control stomata in wheat.