Unraveling molecular basis of phytochemical accumulation toward improved human health

项目摘要/摘要 这一地区项目的首要目标是揭示调节大豆皂素积累的遗传基础。 用于开发增值作物，以增强人类免疫系统，并用于替代医学。 该项目对于应对当前和未来的不可预测的大流行具有紧迫性和重要意义。 大豆皂苷是豆科植物中一组天然存在的植物化学物质，一直以来 据报道，它能增强人体免疫系统。它们还表现出抗病毒、抗癌和抗糖尿病的活性。 以前的研究主要局限于对大豆皂苷的药用特性的检查，但 其生物合成途径不完整，对其调控的分子决定知之甚少。 大豆皂苷的积累。缺乏关于这些重要生物活性化合物的基础知识 限制了植物代谢工程开发富含大豆皂素的作物的成功。超值订书机 大豆等农作物可以通过日常饮食来增强免疫力，并可以在全球范围内获得 给经济困难的人群。该项目是第一个弥合这一关键差距的项目，并检查 应用跨学科方法调节天然植物中大豆皂苷变异的分子机制， 例如基因组学、生物化学和CRISPR-Cas9基因编辑。 研究目标将通过完成以下两个具体目标来实现：1)确定 栽培大豆的野生祖先野生大豆中调控大豆皂苷生产的候选基因 具有庞大的基因库；以及2)验证已识别的候选基因的基因功能 采用最先进的CRISPR-Cas9基因编辑系统生产大豆皂苷。 我们在这里的科学贡献是重大的，因为它将解决分子的一个关键的基本问题 调节天然植物中重要的植物化学物质生产的基础。具体地说，我们的研究将得到改进 了解大豆皂苷生产中的分子组成及其功能关系。项目 这些结果有望为高效的植物代谢工程和/或分子工程迈出重要的一步。 培育增值大豆品种，通过饮食和营养提高人体免疫系统 最终导致预防和治疗癌症和其他慢性病的替代战略。 绘制种群图和大量的基因组数据将为部署类似的 研究其他与人类健康有关的特征的策略。这一综合性研究项目将与 本科生和研究生在一个综合的跨学科研究环境中。这一地区 该奖项将加强北卡罗来纳大学夏洛特分校的研究环境，这是一个快速增长的 城市大学拥有大量的第一代和低收入家庭学生。PI有一个很强的轨迹 在她的研究项目中吸收代表不足的少数族裔和妇女的记录。最终的结果是 这一跨学科研究项目将对改善公共卫生产生更广泛的影响， 在本地和全球范围内。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The overarching goal of this AREA project is to uncover the genetic basis regulating soyasaponin accumulation for the development of value-increased crops to boost the human immune system and for alternative medicine. This project is urgent and significant to meet current and future unpredicted pandemics. Soyasaponins are a group of naturally occurring phytochemicals in legume species and has been reported to boost the human immune system. They also exhibit anti-viral, anti-cancer, and anti-diabetic activities. Previous research has been predominantly limited to examinations of soyasaponin's medicinal properties, but its biosynthetic pathway is not complete and little is known about its molecular determination in regulating soyasaponin accumulation. The lack of fundamental knowledge about these important bioactive compounds limits the success of plant metabolic engineering to develop soyasaponin-rich crops. The value-improved staple crops, such as soybean, can be consumed via a daily diet to boost immunity and can be made globally accessible to economically disadvantaged populations. This project is the first to bridge this critical gap and examine the molecular mechanisms regulating soyasaponin variation in natural plants applying interdisciplinary approaches, such as genomics, biochemistry, and CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing. The research goal will be accomplished by completion of the following two specific aims: 1) to identify candidate genes regulating soyasaponin production in wild soybeans, the wild progenitor of cultivated soybean with a large gene pool; and 2) to validate gene function of identified candidate genes in contributing to soyasaponin production using state-of-the-art CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system. Our scientific contribution here is significant as it will address a crucial fundamental question of molecular basis regulating vital phytochemical production in natural plants. Specifically, our study will improve understanding of the molecular components and their functional relationships in soyasaponin production. Project results are expected to provide a significant step toward efficient plant metabolic engineering and/or molecular breeding to develop value-increased soybean cultivars to boost the human immune system through diet and ultimately lead to alternative strategies for the prevention and treatment of cancer and other chronic diseases. The mapping population and large genomic data will provide the plant community resource for deploying similar strategies to the study of other human health-related traits. This comprehensive research project will engage undergraduate and graduate students in a comprehensive interdisciplinary research environment. This AREA award will enhance the research environment at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a rapidly growing urban university with a large number of first-generation and low-income students. The PI has a strong track record of involving under-represented minorities and women in her research program. The final outcome of this interdisciplinary research project will create a broader impact on the improvement of public health, both locally and globally.