Discovery and application of regulatory mechanisms controlling SNF1 kinase dependent stress resistance

全球极端天气和人口对世界粮食供应的压力，加上可耕地数量减少和海洋资源减少，凸显了了解如何在次优环境下提高粮食生产的紧迫性。对抗逆性至关重要的是SNF1激酶复合物。我们早期对酵母细胞的研究表明，SNF1激酶活性在促进细胞对环境压力和营养缺乏的反应中很重要，有助于它们适应恶劣的条件。SNF1酶的保守版本存在于所有植物和动物中。了解它们的行为是如何受基因调控的，以及它如何帮助生物体生存，有助于培育出更能适应恶劣环境的作物和牲畜。我们的短期目标是提供证据，证明通过SNF1激酶活性可以提高食品产量，并为未来达到相同目的的方法确定目标。******我们的短期目标将通过以下三个目标来实现：***目标1：建立Snf1活性增强对植物抗逆性的意义***目标2：建立Snf1活性增强对鱼类抗逆性的意义***目标3：进行大规模酵母筛选，全面鉴定Snf1激酶的激活因子和抑制因子，包括参与核细胞质分离的因子。******我们的部分工作包括密集的搜索，以确定激活这种酶的新方法。这项工作的另一个方面是直接测试一种已知的过度活跃的酶在面对现实压力时如何提供生存优势。在这个资助周期内，我们将测量SNF1激酶活性的基因增强如何增加植物和鱼类在暴露于与不良生产环境相关的常见压力源时的存活率。拟南芥是一种与油菜、卷心菜和其他粮食作物相关的芸苔属植物，当SNF1激酶活性增强时，拟南芥和斑马鱼将被用于测试生存能力和健康状况。植物将暴露在低土壤养分、高盐分和重金属污染的条件下。鱼将受到温度变化、低营养、不同水平的氨废物和人类处理的影响。从长远来看，这些好处将转化为更健壮的农业和水产养殖品种的工程，这将对世界粮食供应产生积极影响。这也将特别有利于加拿大，通过创造抗压力的大西洋鲑鱼或虹鳟鱼，或抗压力的油菜籽和豆类，这些都是有价值的经济产业

Global weather extremes and population pressures on world food supply, combined with decreasing arable land availability and declining ocean stocks, underscore the urgency in understanding how to enhance food production in suboptimal environments. Critical to stress resistance is the SNF1 kinase enzyme complex. Our earlier work with yeast cells showed that SNF1 kinase activity is important in promoting the cells' responses to environmental stress and lack of nutrients, helping them to adapt to poor conditions. Conserved versions of SNF1 enzymes are found in all plants and animals. Understanding how their action is regulated genetically, and how it helps organisms to survive, offers the potential to develop crops and livestock that are better adapted to thrive in harsh environments. Our short term goals aim to provide evidence that food production can be enhanced through SNF1 kinase activity, and to identify targets for future approaches to the same end. ******Our short term goals will be addressed by the following three objectives:***Objective 1: To establish the significance of enhanced Snf1 activity on stress resistance in plants***Objective 2: To establish the significance of enhanced Snf1 activity on stress resistance in fish***Objective 3: To perform a large-scale yeast screen to comprehensively identify activators and repressors of SNF1 kinase including those involved in nuclear-cytosolic segregation. ******Part of our work involves an intensive search that will identify new methods of activating this enzyme. Another aspect of the proposed work is to directly test how a known overactive enzyme will provide survival benefits when exposed to realistic stresses. Within this funding cycle, we will measure how the genetic enhancement of SNF1 kinase activity augments plant and fish survival when they are exposed to common stressors associated with poor production environments. Arabidopsis, a brassica related to canola, cabbage and other food crops, and zebrafish will be used to test survivability and health when SNF1 kinase activity is augmented. Plants will be exposed to conditions of low soil nutrients, high salinity and heavy metal contamination. Fish will be subjected to temperature variations, low nutrients, variable levels of ammonia waste, and human handling. In the long term, such benefits will be translated to the engineering of more robust agricultural and aquacultural strains that will have positive impacts on world food supply. This will also specifically benefit Canada through the creation of stress resistant Atlantic salmon or rainbow trout, or stress resistant canola and legumes, which are valuable economic industries.**