NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: The evolution and characterization of C4 and C3-C4 phenotypes

2021 财年 NSF 生物学博士后奖学金：C4 和 C3-C4 表型的演变和表征

• 批准号: 2109877
• 负责人: Richard Abrahams
• 金额: $ 21.6万
• 依托单位: Abrahams, Richard S
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-08-01 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2109877&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Postdoctoral; Fellowship; Biology; FY

This action funds an NSF Plant Genome Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2021. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow who also presents a plan to broaden participation in biology. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to Richard S. Abrahams is "The evolution and characterization of C4 and C3-C4 phenotypes". The host institutions for the fellowship are Yale University and Purdue University and the sponsoring scientists are Dr. Erika Edwards and Dr. Jennifer Wisecaver.The order Brassicales contains several crop species important to global human nutrition. Species like Gynandropsis gynandra are considered potential superfoods because of their C4 photosynthetic ability to more efficiently capture carbon in the atmosphere and convert that to sugars for growth. While being closely related, plants of the mustard family (Brassicaceae) have not evolved this efficient form of photosynthesis despite occurring in areas where such a trait is advantageous. This research will leverage plant genomic datasets to explore plants' evolutionary limitations in the Brassicales for acquiring this useful trait. By elucidating the underlying mechanisms that prevent C4 or intermediate phenotypes, breeding efforts for key crop species may develop C4 varieties and improve global food production. This research's broader impacts initiative focuses on photosynthesis as a common K-12 subject and the impact of representation in the classroom. This initiative is designed to inspire an interest in STEM careers for underrepresented groups through authentic storytelling and effective science communication.With over 66 known independent evolutions of C4 photosynthesis, many instances have yet to be characterized by science due to complex phenotyping. Although the Brassicales has diversified within hot and arid environments, prime context for the evolution C4, only three origins of C4 are known in the order, in the family Cleomaceae, and one origin of C3-C4 intermediates in the Brassicaceae. This lack of trait convergence may be due to certain metabolic evolutionary constraints. This project will develop a bioinformatic tool for identifying potential C3-C4 intermediacy in candidate species from transcriptome data to characterize these constraints in an evolutionary context. This tool will then be used to assess candidate species across the order Brassicales to identify novel origins of C4 or C3-C4 traits. Finally, coexpression network methods designed to detect specialized metabolic modules will be adapted to address fundamental questions around the evolution of C4 and C3-C4 mechanisms. The programs developed to run these analyses, and all genomic data generated from this research will be freely available for the broader scientific community.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.

该行动资助了 2021 财年 NSF 植物基因组生物学博士后研究奖学金。该奖学金支持该研究员在主办实验室的研究和培训计划，该研究员还提出了一项扩大生物学参与的计划。 Richard S. Abrahams 的这项研究金的研究和培训计划的标题是“C4 和 C3-C4 表型的进化和表征”。该奖学金的主办机构是耶鲁大学和普渡大学，资助科学家是 Erika Edwards 博士和 Jennifer Wisecaver 博士。芸苔目包含多种对全球人类营养至关重要的作物物种。像白花菜这样的物种被认为是潜在的超级食物，因为它们的 C4 光合作用能力可以更有效地捕获大气中的碳并将其转化为糖用于生长。芥菜科（十字花科）植物虽然密切相关，但尚未进化出这种有效的光合作用形式，尽管它们出现在这种特征有利的地区。这项研究将利用植物基因组数据集来探索芸苔目植物的进化限制，以获得这种有用的性状。通过阐明防止 C4 或中间表型的根本机制，关键作物品种的育种工作可能会开发 C4 品种并提高全球粮食产量。这项研究更广泛的影响倡议重点关注光合作用作为 K-12 的常见科目以及课堂表现的影响。该倡议旨在通过真实的故事讲述和有效的科学传播，激发弱势群体对 STEM 职业的兴趣。已知有超过 66 种 C4 光合作用的独立进化，但由于复杂的表型，许多实例尚未得到科学表征。尽管十字花科在炎热和干旱的环境（C4 进化的主要背景）中已经多样化，但在该目中，仅已知 C4 的三个起源，即 Cleomaceae 科，以及十字花科中 C3-C4 中间体的一个起源。这种性状趋同性的缺乏可能是由于某些代谢进化限制造成的。该项目将开发一种生物信息学工具，用于从转录组数据中识别候选物种中潜在的 C3-C4 中介作用，以在进化背景下表征这些限制。然后，该工具将用于评估芸苔目的候选物种，以确定 C4 或 C3-C4 性状的新起源。最后，旨在检测专门代谢模块的共表达网络方法将适用于解决有关 C4 和 C3-C4 机制进化的基本问题。为运行这些分析而开发的程序以及从这项研究中生成的所有基因组数据将免费提供给更广泛的科学界。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进行评估，被认为值得支持标准。