Towards commercial exploitation of a transcription factor from Arabidopsis for improved water productivity in an arable crop species.

提高水分生产力正在成为作物育种计划的重要目标性状，这将有助于水资源的可持续利用。“水生产力”一词指的是在一定的供水量下作物的产量。理想的水分生产力性状应在水分充足的条件下促进高产，在水分有限的条件下，应保持经济上可行的产量。因此，任何有可能改善这一特性的基因对未来的作物育种计划都是非常重要的。我们已经发现，来自拟南芥的转录因子（TF）基因在同一物种中过度表达时，在一系列水分可用性中提高了水分生产力。该基因是在我们之前和目前仍在由BBSRC资助的研究中发现的。该项目只有一个目标，即建立“原理证明”，即当拟南芥TF基因在油菜中被转化并过度表达时，它可以提高该物种的水分生产力。一旦“原理证明”建立起来，这种基因就可以被广泛用于从作物到家庭植物的各种新用途，在任何地方，种植植物的用水都是一个重要因素。该项目将使大学对该基因的知识产权保持强大的影响力，使我们能够将我们的发现授权给尽可能多的潜在用户。

Improved water productivity is emerging as the important target trait for crop breeding programmes that will contribute to the sustainable use of water resources. The term 'water productivity' means the amount of crop yield for a given amount of water supplied. The ideal water productivity trait should promote a high yield under well-watered conditions and under water-limited conditions, should maintain an economically viable yield. Consequently, any gene which has the potential to improve this trait is of immense importance to future crop breeding programmes. We have discovered that a transcription factor (TF) gene from Arabidopsis when over-expressed in the same species confers improved water productivity in a range of water availabilities. The gene was identified from our previous and still current BBSRC funded research. This project has a single objective, to establish 'proof of principle' that when the Arabidopsis TF gene is transformed and over-expressed in oil seed rape it can confer improved water productivity upon this species. once 'proof of principle' is established, the gene could be exploited for a wide range of novel uses from crops to household plants, anywhere the use of water for growing plants is an important factor. This project will allow the University to retain a strong influence over the intellectual property concerning this gene, allowing us to license our findings to the widest number of potential users.