Hydrolyzable Tannin Biosynthesis in Plants

植物中可水解单宁的生物合成

• 批准号: 1120323
• 负责人: Li Tian
• 金额: $ 52.61万
• 依托单位: University of California-Davis
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-08-01 至 2015-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1120323&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Hydrolyzable; Tannin; Biosynthesis; Plants

Hydrolyzable tannins are a group of plant polyphenolic compounds that act as chemical defenses against microbes, insects and vertebrate herbivores. Hydrolyzable tannins also impact soil nutrient dynamics and affect the germination, growth and development of other plant species. Besides imparting astringent taste sensations, hydrolyzable tannins also enhance the nutritional quality of plant foods due to their antioxidant, anticancer and cardioprotective activities. Despite these important functions that hydrolyzable tannins play in plants and humans, large and significant gaps remain in our understanding of the molecular and biochemical mechanisms underlying hydrolyzable tannin biosynthesis in plants. This project will investigate the key enzymatic steps leading to hydrolyzable tannin biosynthesis using strawberry and pomegranate as model systems. Cloning of hydrolyzable tannin biosynthetic genes will facilitate modification of plant composition for improved protein utilization in forage crops. Underpinning hydrolyzable tannin biogenesis will also broaden our understanding of plant defense mechanisms, as well as plant-soil and plant-plant (allelopathic) interactions. Broader ImpactsIn addition to the scientific impacts, various aspects of the research will be used to provide multidisciplinary training opportunities, encompassing molecular biology, biochemistry, and cell biology, to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars. The educational activities at the undergraduate level will be focused on three areas: providing research opportunities to new UC Davis transfer students, promoting career access among women and underrepresented minority students, and retaining students from low-income families. Another major focus of the educational activities is to prepare graduate students and postdoctoral scholars for their future independent careers in science. An outreach program is currently being developed to expose high school students to research activities and biotechnological applications through internships in the PI's laboratory.

可水解的单宁是一组植物多酚化合物，可作为对微生物，昆虫和脊椎动物食草动物的化学防御。可水解的单宁还影响土壤养分动力学，并影响其他植物物种的发芽，生长和发育。除了赋予涩味的单宁外，由于其抗氧化剂，抗癌和心脏保护活动，可水解的单宁还提高了植物食品的营养质量。尽管这些重要的功能表明可水解单宁在植物和人类中发挥作用，但我们对植物中可水解的单宁生物合成的分子和生化机制的理解仍然存在。该项目将研究使用草莓和石榴作为模型系统的可水解单宁生物合成的关键酶促步骤。可水解的单宁生物合成基因的克隆将促进植物组成的修饰，以改善草料作物中的蛋白质利用。基于可水解的单宁生物发生的基础还将扩大我们对植物防御机制的理解，以及植物土壤和植物植物和植物植物的相互作用。对科学影响的更大影响，研究的各个方面将用于提供多学科的培训机会，涵盖分子生物学，生物化学和细胞生物学，对高中，本科生，研究生，研究生以及博士后学者。本科层面的教育活动将集中在三个领域：为新的加州大学戴维斯（UC Davis）转学学生提供研究机会，促进妇女的职业访问权限和代表性不足的少数族裔学生，并保留来自低收入家庭的学生。教育活动的另一个主要重点是为研究生和博士后学者做好准备，以实现其未来独立的科学职业。目前正在开发一项外展计划，以通过PI实验室的实习来揭示高中生研究活动和生物技术应用。