Post-transcriptional control of gene expression and its role in plant responses to developmental and environmental cues

植物基因表达受植物一生中接受的环境和发育信号的调控。基因表达的调控通常发生在基因转录成RNA之后，这一过程称为转录后控制。这个过程可以调节细胞中RNA代谢的各个方面，包括RNA的稳定性，它们的特异性定位以及它们翻译成蛋白质。RNA结合蛋白是基因表达转录后调控的关键介质。它们可以直接调节其靶RNA，也可以招募其他蛋白质来辅助RNA调节。我的研究计划的长期目标是更好地了解RNA结合蛋白在植物细胞转录后控制中的作用，以及这种形式的基因调控如何调节植物发育和植物对环境信号的反应。我的研究计划的短期目标，如本提案所述，旨在了解模式植物拟南芥（Arabidopsis thaliana）中三种RNA结合蛋白的分子，生物化学和细胞功能。其中两种蛋白属于RNA结合蛋白的PUF家族。另一种是具有RNA结合活性的代谢酶。由于这些蛋白质中的每一种似乎在调节RNA的代谢中具有不同的作用，因此了解它们如何工作将为植物细胞中RNA结合蛋白功能的机制提供有价值的见解。 这项研究将增强我们对转录后基因调控在植物发育中的作用的理解（即，根发育）和响应环境线索（即，光、低氧等）。这可能有助于通过选择或转基因表达本研究中鉴定的编码mRNA的转录后调节基因来增强作物植物性能的策略。这项研究还可以确定一种方法来设计一个先进的PUF蛋白骨架，使其可用于靶向和操纵感兴趣的特定细胞RNA。

Plant gene expression is regulated by environmental and developmental signals that plants receive throughout their lifetime. The regulation of gene expression often occurs after genes are transcribed into RNA, in a process called post-transcriptional control. This process can regulate various aspects of RNA metabolism in the cell, including the stability of RNAs, their specific localization, and their translation into protein. RNA-binding proteins are critical mediators of post-transcriptional control of gene expression. They can directly regulate their target RNAs, or they can recruit other proteins that assist in RNA regulation. The long-term goal of my research program is to better understand the role of RNA-binding proteins in post-transcriptional control in plant cells, and how this form of gene regulation modulates plant development and plant responses to environmental signals. The short-term objectives of my research program, as outlined in this proposal, are aimed at understanding the molecular, biochemical and cellular functions of three RNA-binding proteins in the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis). Two of these proteins belong to the PUF family of RNA-binding proteins. The other is a metabolic enzyme that possesses RNA binding activity. Because each of these proteins appear to have distinct roles in regulating the metabolism of RNAs, understanding how they work will provide valuable insight into the mechanisms of RNA-binding protein function in plant cells. This research will enhance our understanding of the roles of post-transcriptional gene regulation in plant development (i.e., root development) and in response to environmental cues (i.e., light, low oxygen, etc.). This could contribute to strategies aimed at enhancing crop plant performance by the selection or transgenic expression of post-transcriptionally regulated genes that encode mRNAs that are identified in this study. This research may also identify a method to engineer an advanced PUF protein backbone so that it can be used to target and manipulate specific cellular RNAs of interest.