Discovery and characterization of adaptive genes and regulatory networks in plants

通过进行特异性杂交和选择具有有利性状的后代进行进一步繁殖的植物改良一直是人类的关键创新。它使地球上更多的人能够以比其他方式更高的生活水平生活，并大大提高了可耕地的生产力。植物改良的基础是在植物DNA中编码的。植物品种之间的性状不同是因为它们的DNA序列不同。在许多情况下，性状差异是由基因功能的变化引起的。在其他情况下，差异是由基因作用的位置和水平的变化引起的。该提案的核心目标是利用计算生物学和基因组技术的最新进展来确定优良作物品种之间的基因调控差异以及调控差异的分子原因。我们用玉米，

Plant improvement by making specific crosses and selecting the progeny with favorable traits for further propagation has been a critical human innovation. It has enabled many more people to live on earth with higher living standards than would otherwise be possible, and it has greatly enhanced the productivity of arable land. The underlying basis for plant improvement is coded within plant DNA. Traits between plant varieties differ because of differences in their DNA sequences. In many cases, trait differences are caused by a change in a gene's function. In other cases, differences are caused by changes in the location and the level of a gene’s action. The core objective of this proposal is to use recent advances in computational biology and genomic technologies to identify the gene regulatory differences between elite crop cultivars and the molecular causes of the regulatory differences. We will use maize,