Research proposal: Engineering chloroplast genomes for enhanced photosynthetic efficiency

叶绿体是植物细胞中进行光合作用的细胞器，光合作用是利用阳光将二氧化碳转化为碳水化合物的过程。叶绿体拥有自己的基因组，称为质体体，编码许多光合作用必需的基因。这些基因是提高作物生产力的理想靶标。然而，到目前为止，由于缺乏能够对质组进行特定和有效编辑的可编程DNA编辑工具，因此阻碍了对质组工程的重大努力。本项目的目的是在广泛使用的CRISPR-CAS编辑系统的基础上开发这样一个工具，为塑性组工程打开大门。然后，该系统将被用于将进化引导的目标编辑引入模式植物拟南芥质体体中。然后将主要通过光谱分析方法来分析突变的影响。BBSRC优先领域为质体开发可编程DNA编辑工具，可用于提高作物生产力属于BBSRCS生物科学转化技术的范畴。确定和确定增强合乎需要的光合作用特性的目标编辑的工作属于BBSRCS全球粮食安全和可持续加强农业生产优先领域。

Chloroplasts are the organelles in plant cells that carry out photosynthesis, the process that utilizes sunlight to covert carbon dioxide to carbohydrates. Chloroplasts house their own genome, termed the plastome, that encodes many genes essential for photosynthesis. These genes are desirable targets for enhancing crop productivity. However, a lack of programmable DNA editing tools capable of specific and efficient editing of the plastome has so far prevented significant efforts for plastome engineering. This project aims to develop such a tool, based on the widely used CRISPR-Cas editing system, to open the door for plastome engineering. The system will then be used to introduce evolutionary-guided target edits into the plastome of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The effect of the mutations will then be analyzed, primarily through spectroscopic methods.BBSRC Priority AreasThe development of a programmable DNA editing tool for the plastome which could be used for enhancing crop productivity falls under the BBSRCs transformative technology for the biosciences. Work to identify and characterize target edits that enhance desirable photosynthetic traits falls under the BBSRCs global food security and sustainably enhancing agricultural production priority areas.