The Role of Cryptochromes in environmental regulation of growth

摘要 生物学中一个尚未得到解答的基本问题是，生物体的环境是如何 调节其生长发育。与动物不同，植物既没有特定的器官，也没有视觉或听觉的特定器官 各种环境刺激也不能四处移动，以避免不利的条件。虽然没有大脑， 植物可以成功地整合内部和外部线索，并对生长做出适当的决定。在……里面 与动物不同，植物的生长发生在胚胎后，以产生新的器官和生长 修改现有表格以适应当地环境。光是最相关的 环境信号，因为光不仅驱动光合作用，而且还提供关于 当地的生长环境以及昼夜和季节时间。在未来的几年里，我的实验室将 解决植物器官间通讯的机制和性质，尽管缺乏 神经系统，当暴露在次优的光环境中时，向远处的器官发出信号。我们的长- 术语目标是了解植物感知和响应其光的分子机制。 环境。为了解决我们的问题，我们将使用隐色素(CRY)，UV-A/蓝光感光器， 因为它们形成了光环境和有机体之间的界面。CRY存在于不同的 生物体，包括人类，在那里它们调节昼夜节律，几个生理过程和 疾病。我们将在细胞水平上获得对CREY基因表达调控的机械性见解 导致了生物体水平的形态变化。我们还将确定光和新的 鉴定的分子因子，即我们鉴定的控制哭蛋白数量和活性的分子因子。另外，我们的 研究将揭开哭泣的新机制，通过它与RNA结合的相互作用 我们已经发现的蛋白质控制着RNA的代谢，特别是甲基化的RNA(M6A)。M6A是 一种RNA修饰，可控制其作为可逆调节标记和RNA甲基化中断的命运 会导致植物生长缺陷，并与几种人类疾病有关。因此，揭示一个人的角色 RNA代谢中的Crys有可能在临床上为新兴的甲基化RNA领域做出贡献 这意味着什么。这项研究的成功将有助于显著提高作物生产率，以满足日益增长的 在人类群体和针对神经元障碍的光遗传工具的开发方面取得了进展。在人类身上， 哭泣活动的中断与许多人类疾病有关，包括癌症、炎症、失眠 还有糖尿病。了解哭泣的功能可以帮助预防和治疗这些疾病。 总而言之，我们的研究将对农业以及人类健康和疾病产生广泛影响。

ABSTRACT A fundamental question in biology, which remains unanswered, is how the environment of the organism regulates its growth and development. Unlike animals, plants neither have specific organs that see or hear various environmental stimuli nor can they move around to avoid adverse conditions. Although lacking a brain, plants can successfully integrate internal and external cues and make appropriate decisions about growth. In contrast to animals, growth in plants occurs post-embryonically, to produce new organs and for growth and modification of existing forms to adapt to the local environment. Light is among the most relevant environmental signals because light not only drives photosynthesis but also provides critical information about the local growth environment as well as diurnal and seasonal time. Over the next few years, my laboratory will address the mechanisms and the nature of inter-organ communication in plants, where in spite of lack of a nervous system, signaling to distant organs occur when exposed to a sub-optimal light environment. Our long- term goal is to understand the molecular mechanisms by which a plant perceives and responds to its light environment. To address our questions, we will use cryptochromes (CRYs), the UV-A/blue light photoreceptor, as they form the interface between the light environment and the organism. CRYs are present in diverse organisms including humans, where they regulate circadian rhythms, several physiological processes and diseases. We will obtain mechanistic insights on CRY regulation of gene expression at a cellular level that leads to morphological changes at the organismal level. We will also determine how light and the newly identified molecular factor, that we have identified controls CRY protein quantity and activity. Also, our research will unravel the novel mechanisms by which CRYs, through its interaction with the RNA-binding proteins that we have discovered, control RNA metabolism specifically that of methylated RNAs (m6A). m6A is a RNA modification that controls its fate as a reversible regulatory mark and disruption of RNA methylation leads to growth defects in plants and is linked to several human diseases. Therefore, uncovering the role of CRYs in RNA metabolism has the potential to contribute to the emerging field of methylated RNA with clinical implications. The success of this study will help to significantly improve crop productivity to feed the growing human population and in the development of optogenetic tools to target neuronal disorders. In humans, disruption of CRY activity is associated with many human disorders including cancer, inflammation, insomnia and diabetes. Understanding CRY function can lead to both prevention and treatment of these diseases. Taken together, our research will have a broad impact on agriculture and in human health and disease.