CAREER: Combining Engineering, Biomechanics, and Genetic Analysis to Enable the Design of Structurally Superior Grain Crops

职业：结合工程、生物力学和遗传分析，设计结构优越的谷物作物

• 批准号: 2046669
• 负责人: Douglas Cook
• 金额: $ 62.42万
• 依托单位: Brigham Young University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-04-01 至 2026-03-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2046669&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Combining; Engineering; Biomechanics; Genetic; CAREER; Combining; Engineering; Biomechanics; Genetic

This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award will combine modern tools from the fields of biomechanics, structural engineering, and genetics to provide new understanding of the factors that contribute to stalk strength of grain crops. The long-term goal of this work is to intentionally optimize (i.e., design) the architecture of grain crops. These new varieties will have the potential for exceptionally high yield and biofuel production. Maize (corn) is the largest crop in the US and will be the primary subject of this research. Tools and techniques from structural engineering will be used. These include structural tests, the use of new devices for measuring stalk strength in the field, and focused measurements of the geometry and mechanical properties of maize stalk tissues. Genetic techniques will include the use of breeding experiments to generate a population of maize stalks having a broad range of structural and genetic diversity. This population will be analyzed to determine the influence of specific genes on maize stalk strength and other key characteristics. Finally, structural and genetic information will be combined to create powerful new computational models of maize stalk strength. These new models will allow optimization studies. The results will suggest ways for achieving grain crops that are high-yielding while also being suitable for second-generation biofuel production. To carry out this work, students will receive training and extensive mentoring and professional development alongside their scientific training.The specific aims of this research are: (1) generate genetic and structural diversity through selective breeding and transgenic experiments; (2) perform biomechanical measurements of physical specimens; and (3) use computational modeling to investigate optimal stalk archetypes. Specimen diversity will be created using test-cross and inter-cross breeding experiments. Biomechanical measurements (bending tests, mechanical tissue tests, and morphological measurements) will be performed on these specimens as well as on transgenic varieties previously generated. This information will be used to quantify the influence of specific candidate genes identified in previous studies. Finally, a parameterized computational modeling platform will be created to allow sensitivity and optimization analyses. This research is expected to provide valuable new insights on the influences of structural factors and candidate genes on the structural resilience of crops, thus enabling new breeding approaches that seek to follow the optimization results provided by this study. This work is co-funded by the Plant, Fungal and Microbial Developmental Mechanisms program in the Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Integrative Organismal Systems.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.

该教师早期职业发展（职业）奖将结合现代工具，从生物力学，结构工程和遗传学领域，以提供对有助于谷物作物茎强度的因素的新了解。这项工作的长期目标是故意优化（即设计）谷物作物的结构。这些新品种将具有异常高产和生物燃料生产的潜力。玉米（玉米）是美国最大的农作物，将是这项研究的主要主题。将使用结构工程的工具和技术。 这些包括结构性测试，使用新设备来测量田间的茎强度，以及玉米茎组织的几何形状和机械性能的重点测量。遗传技术将包括使用育种实验来产生具有广泛结构和遗传多样性的玉米茎。将分析该人群，以确定特定基因对玉米茎强度和其他关键特征的影响。最后，将结合结构和遗传信息，以创建强大的玉米茎强度的新计算模型。这些新模型将允许优化研究。 结果将为实现高收益而同时适合第二代生物燃料生产的谷物作物提出建议。 为了进行这项工作，学生将在科学培训的同时获得培训和广泛的指导和专业发展。这项研究的具体目的是：（1）通过选择性育种和转基因实验来产生遗传和结构多样性； （2）对物理标本进行生物力学测量； （3）使用计算建模来研究最佳的茎原型。标本多样性将使用测试跨和交叉育种实验创建。将对这些标本以及先前生成的转基因品种进行生物力学测量（弯曲测试，机械组织测试和形态测量）。该信息将用于量化先前研究中鉴定的特定候选基因的影响。最后，将创建一个参数化的计算建模平台，以允许灵敏度和优化分析。预计这项研究将对结构因素和候选基因对农作物结构弹性的影响提供宝贵的新见解，从而实现新的育种方法，以遵循本研究提供的优化结果。 这项工作由工厂，真菌和微生物发育机制计划在生物科学局，综合有机系统的部门中共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的审查标准来通过评估来获得支持的。