EAGER: Plant membrane on-a-chip for the genome wide studies of plant transport processes

EAGER：芯片上的植物膜，用于植物运输过程的全基因组研究

• 批准号: 2016107
• 负责人: Susan Daniel
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: Cornell University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-05-15 至 2024-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2016107&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Plant; membrane; chip; genome

Plant cells are surrounded by the plasma membrane that forms cellular boundaries and helps to maintain chemically distinct environments within and outside the cell. Membrane-based compartmentation allows different processes to occur simultaneously in different parts of the cell and in accordance with plant needs. These cellular processes ensure plant growth, development and response to environmental stresses and largely depend on ions and organic molecules redistribution across membranes. Most nutrients and metabolites cannot freely cross the membrane, so specific proteins, known as channels, pumps, and cotransporters, are embedded in plant membranes for this purpose. As scientists strive to understand how plants adapt to extreme weather conditions, pathogen pressures, and pollution, uncovering how these transport systems operate is important for devising sustainable approaches for improving crop yield and promoting flourishing ecosystems. In this project, a device is proposed that can take samples of plant cell membranes with embedded transport systems to test their response and properties to various conditions of interest. The device consists of a transparent, conductive plastic surface that measures the material that crosses the plant cell membrane in a highly controlled manner, allowing scientists to probe, and later connect, the responses of transport systems with the plant from which it was derived and the conditions under which that plant was grown. This project will also foster high school student excitement about career choices in agriculture and life science industries that involve biotechnology and applications in plants, food, and farming through Cornell’s WOMEN event.Monitoring the flux of solutes and ions across plant cell membranes through ion channels and transporters embedded within them, is a significant challenge today, but is fundamental for assigning function to unknown transporter genes, tackling transporter substrate specificities and mode of regulation, linking metabolic pathways to cellular compartments, plant growth and development, and bridging the genotype to phenotype gap. Today's technologies are inadequate for a number of reasons, including low throughput and lack of sensitivity, especially for transporters, which have fluxes several orders of magnitude lower than ion channels. Here, a new technology is proposed that combines planar plant membranes, microfluidic environmental control, and a transparent, electrically conducting polymer, comprising a “plant membrane bioelectronic device.” This device is capable of dual-mode (optical or electrical) measurement of transporter function. This new kind of sensor device can be highly multiplexed for collection of large data sets on plant transporter systems in a way that has not been possible before. Such large data sets feed into big data science approaches for enabling discoveries and breakthroughs in our understanding of how plants adapt to genetic perturbations, extreme weather conditions, pathogen pressures, and other critical aspects important for improving crop yield and promoting flourishing ecosystems. This project will also foster the next generation of high school students becoming excited about career choices in agriculture and life science industries that involve biotechnology and applications in plants, food, and farming through ongoing outreach activities that engage K-12 girls and their parents through Cornell’s WOMEN event.This award was co-funded by the Plant Genome Research Program and the Physiological Mechanisms and Biomechanics Program.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

植物细胞被质膜包围，质膜形成细胞边界，有助于维持细胞内外化学上不同的环境，允许不同的过程在细胞的不同部分同时发生，并根据植物的需要进行。植物的生长、发育和对环境胁迫的反应很大程度上取决于离子和有机分子跨膜的重新分配，大多数营养物质和代谢物不能自由穿过膜，因此特定的蛋白质（称为通道、泵和协同转运蛋白）嵌入植物膜中。为此，科学家们努力了解植物如何适应极端天气条件、病原体压力和污染，揭示这些运输系统的运作方式对于设计提高作物产量和促进生态系统繁荣的可持续方法非常重要。该装置由透明导电塑料表面组成，可在高度受控的情况下测量穿过植物细胞膜的材料。方式，让科学家们能够探索，然后该项目还将激发高中生对涉及生物技术和植物应用的农业和生命科学行业职业选择的兴趣。通过康奈尔大学的 WOMEN 活动，监测植物细胞膜上溶质和离子的通量，通过离子通道和嵌入植物细胞膜的转运蛋白，是当今的一项重大挑战，但对于将功能分配给未知的转运蛋白基因、破坏的转运蛋白底物至关重要调节的特异性和模式，将代谢途径与细胞区室、植物生长和发育联系起来，以及弥合基因型与表型的差距。当今的技术由于多种原因而不足，包括通量低和缺乏敏感性，特别是对于转运蛋白而言。通量比离子通道低几个数量级。这里提出了一种新技术，该技术结合了平面植物膜、微流体环境控制和透明导电聚合物，包括“植物膜生物电子装置”。这种新型传感器设备可以高度多路复用，以以前不可能的方式收集植物运输系统上的大型数据集。大数据科学方法使我们能够在理解植物如何适应遗传扰动、极端天气条件、病原体压力以及对提高作物产量和促进繁荣生态系统至关重要的其他关键方面取得发现和突破。该项目还将培育下一代。高中生兴奋地成为通过持续的外展活动，通过康奈尔大学的 WOMEN 活动吸引 K-12 女孩及其父母参与农业和生命科学行业的职业选择，涉及植物、食品和农业中的生物技术和应用。该奖项由植物基因组研究计划共同资助该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。