DEVELOPMENT OF TOOLS TO ANALYZE PLANT SECONDARY METABOLITE CELL-CYCLE EFFECTS

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中利用 资源由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供。子项目和 调查员(PI)可能从NIH的另一个来源获得了主要资金， 并因此可以在其他清晰的条目中表示。列出的机构是 该中心不一定是调查人员的机构。 植物次生代谢物为目前市场上的新疗法提供了许多线索。然而，它们的作用机制通常在植物或动物身上都不被理解。我们的初步数据表明，在悬钩子中，腺毛头部结构中产生的酚类物质(一类次生代谢物)被运输到茎组织下面的细胞核中。由于这些酚类物质的核定位和随后诱导的细胞增殖反应，我们假设这些酚类物质代表了一类新的植物激素，激活了发育调节的信号转导途径。我们进一步假设，这些酚类化合物也能够通过模仿小分子配体激活哺乳动物的信号通路。为了更有竞争力地获得进一步的资金来验证这一假说，我们将需要收集更多的初步数据；因此，我们制定了以下具体目标： 1)为我们感兴趣的植物组织调整和实施细胞周期分析方法，并使用已知影响植物细胞周期的植物次生代谢物来测试这些方法的有效性；2)继续研究植物转化技术，以使参与细胞周期的基因的表达能够通过次生代谢物暴露而改变。这些数据将提供一个初步研究，以开发方法，使我们能够监测悬钩子植物组织中的细胞周期控制，从而进一步研究植物细胞增殖的调控机制，并将这些机制与动物的机制进行比较。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Plant secondary metabolites provide many leads for new therapeutics that are currently on the market. However, their mechanism of action is often not understood in either plants or animals. Our preliminary data show that, in Rubus, phenolics (a class of secondary metabolites) produced in the head structure of glandular trichomes are transported to cellular nuclei in the underlying stalk tissue. Due to the nuclear localization of these phenolics and the cell proliferative response that is subsequently induced, we hypothesize that the phenolics represent a new class of plant hormones that activate developmentally-regulated signal transduction pathways. We further hypothesize that these phenolics also are able to activate mammalian signaling pathways by mimicking small molecule ligands. In order to be competitive for further funding to test this hypothesis, we will be required to collect further preliminary data; therefore, we have formulated the following specific aims to: 1) Adapt and implement methods for cell cycle analyses for our plant tissues of interest and test the utility of these methods using plant secondary metabolites that are known to affect the cell cycle in plants; 2) Continue working on plant transformation technologies to enable the expression of genes that are involved in the cell cycle whose regulation may be altered by secondary metabolite exposure. These data will provide a pilot study to develop methods that will allow us to monitor cell cycle control in Rubus plant tissues, thus allowing further studies into the regulatory mechanisms for cell proliferation in plants and to compare these mechanisms with that in animals.