Developmental Mechanisms Underlying Fleshy Fruit Diversity in Rosaceae

蔷薇科肉质果实多样性的发育机制

• 批准号: 1444987
• 负责人: Zhongchi Liu
• 金额: $ 302.92万
• 依托单位: University of Maryland, College Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-08-01 至 2022-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1444987&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Developmental; Mechanisms; Underlying; Fleshy; Fruit

Co-PI: Sridhar Hannenhalli, University of MarylandCo-PI: Chris Dardick, Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory, USDA-ARSCo-PI: Ann Callahan, Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory, USDA-ARSFruits that are so enjoyed by people are also especially adapted for plant seed dispersal. Even closely related plants display different types of fleshy fruits that accomplish dispersal through variation in color, shape, size, texture and other traits. A major question for plant biologists and fruit crop scientists is how these diverse fruit types evolved and what factors control their development. If scientists could explain the molecular basis of different fruit types, new breeding tools could be used to increase the value of fruit crops and basic research could be advanced. The Rose family (Rosaceae) is an excellent example of how fruits have been selected and adapted to different types of dispersal. Members of the family, including the familiar strawberries, apples, and roses, all have unique fruits and floral structures from which the fruits are derived. This project investigates how these different fruits develop at the molecular level. Using comparative genomic and bioinformatics methods, the research will identify shared and unique genes that control the pattern of fruit development among five representatives of the Rose family: strawberries, peach, plum, apple and raspberry. Computational methods will be used to identify regulatory gene networks that explain how and when the diverse fruits form. High school teachers will be brought into the research program during the summer to study fruit science and computational data analysis, and curricula will be developed for use in the high school classroom. By integrating teachers into the research, the next generation of students will be impacted broadly and will gain hands-on exposure to genomics and bioinformatics. The project investigates the molecular genetic mechanisms that underlie the phenotypic diversity of fleshy fruits in the Rosaceae. By leveraging the evolutionary conservation of genes within the Rosaceae genome, the power of comparative genomics will be used to identify key genes and mechanisms of fleshy fruit development. The recently published Rosaceae genome sequences (apple, strawberry, peach, raspberry and plum) provide an unprecedented opportunity to investigate this fundamental biological question. First, detail morphological and histological changes during floral and early stage fruit development will be characterized for the chosen Rosaceae species. This knowledge will guide sample collection for RNA-sequencing methods immediately before and after fertilization in specific floral tissues. Innovative bioinformatic tools and strategies will be developed to identify toolkit genes and regulatory gene networks, whose spatial or temporal shifts of expression may alter fleshy fruit programs in different species. Functional tests including RNAi, CRISPR, and tissue-specific ectopic expression will be carried out to test predicted toolkit genes using the established transformation systems in strawberry, FasTrack plum, and apple. The ultimate goal is to identify causal relationships between changes of toolkit gene expression and evolution of distinct fleshy fruit types. The research activities will be integrated with several educational and outreach programs including training of students and postdoctoral researchers in genomics and informatics, bioinformatics workshops for high school teachers from rural West Virginia and predominantly minority-serving schools of Prince Georges County of Maryland, and outreach to the public about Genetically Modified Organisms and fruit genomics. All sequence data will be made available through the public NCBI database and through the community database for the Rosaceae.

Co-Pi：马里兰科大学PI的Sridhar Hannenhalli：Chris Dardick，阿巴拉契亚水果研究实验室，USDA-ARSCO-PI：Ann Callahan，Appalachian水果研究实验室，USDA-ARSFRUITS，人们非常喜欢的人也特别适用于植物种子分散。 甚至密切相关的植物都会显示出不同类型的肉质水果，这些水果通过颜色，形状，大小，质地和其他特征的变化来实现分散。植物生物学家和水果作物科学家的一个主要问题是，这些多样化的水果类型如何发展以及哪些因素控制其发展。如果科学家可以解释不同水果类型的分子基础，则可以使用新的育种工具来提高水果作物的价值，并且可以提出基础研究。玫瑰家族（酒渣鼻）是如何选择水果并适应不同类型的分散的一个很好的例子。家庭成员，包括熟悉的草莓，苹果和玫瑰，都有独特的水果和花卉结构，从中得出了水果。该项目研究了这些不同的水果在分子水平上如何发展。使用比较基因组和生物信息学方法，该研究将确定共享和独特的基因控制玫瑰家族的五个代表中的水果发展模式：草莓，桃子，李子，苹果，苹果和覆盆子。计算方法将用于识别法规基因网络，以解释各种水果形成的方式和何时形成。高中教师将在夏季学习研究课程，以研究水果科学和计算数据分析，并将开发课程供高中教室使用。通过将教师纳入研究，下一代学生将受到广泛的影响，并将获得基因组学和生物信息学的动手接触。该项目研究了肉渣科中肉质水果的表型多样性的分子遗传机制。通过利用酒渣鼻基因组中基因的进化保护，将使用比较基因组学的力量来识别肉体果实发育的关键基因和机制。最近发表的酒渣科基因组序列（苹果，草莓，桃子，覆盆子和李子）为研究这个基本生物学问题提供了前所未有的机会。首先，在花朵和早期水果发育过程中的细节形态学和组织学变化将以选择的酒渣鼻生物为特征。这些知识将在特定花卉组织中受精之前和之后引导采集样本的RNA测序方法。将开发创新的生物信息学工具和策略来识别工具包基因和调节基因网络，其表达的空间或时间变化可能会改变不同物种中肉质的水果程序。将使用草莓，Fastrack Plum和Apple中既定的转化系统进行预测的工具包基因，包括RNAi，CRISPR和组织特异性异位表达在内的功能测试。最终目标是确定工具包基因表达的变化与不同肉质水果类型的演变之间的因果关系。研究活动将与几个教育和推广计划集成，包括对学生和信息学的培训和博士后研究人员，来自西弗吉尼亚州乡村的高中教师的生物信息学研讨会以及马里兰王子乔治王子县的主要少数民族学校，以及对公众对遗传改良的有机体和果实基因组和果实基因组的宣传。所有序列数据将通过公共NCBI数据库以及酒渣鼻的社区数据库提供。