Discovery and characterization of adaptive genes and regulatory networks in plants

通过特定的杂交和选择具有良好性状的后代进行进一步繁殖的植物改良一直是人类的一项重要创新。它使更多的人以更高的生活水平生活在地球上，这是不可能的，它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改变引起的。在其他情况下，差异是由位置和基因作用水平的变化引起的。本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精英作物品种之间的基因调控差异及其调控差异的分子原因。我们将使用玉米作为这些基因组规模分析的模型系统。******了解作物生产力的遗传基础对经济、社会和科学都很重要。从经济上讲，作物产量决定了生产者作物的价值，利用基因改良作物将增加加拿大农民的收获价值。从社会角度看，粮食供应必须增加，以满足人口规模和财富不断增长的需求，而植物育种是实现这一目标的主要手段。从科学上讲，了解植物育种者如何改变植物的基因调控将有助于阐明自然种群和育种种群如何随时间变化的广泛主题*****

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, Zea mays, as a model system for these genome-scale analyses. ******Understanding the genetic bases of crop productivity is important for economic, social, and scientific reasons. Economically, crop yields determine the value of a producer's crops, and using genetics to improve crops will increase harvest values for Canadian farmers. Socially, food supply must increase to meet the demands of a human population that is growing in size and affluence, and plant breeding is the primary means to do this. Scientifically, an understanding of how plant breeders change plants' gene regulation will help elucidate broad themes on how both natural and breeding populations change over time.*****