Understanding the molecular control of senescence and nutrient remobilisation in wheat

了解小麦衰老和养分再利用的分子控制

基本信息

批准号：
BB/M014045/1
负责人：
Philippa Borrill
金额：
$ 39.88万
依托单位：
John Innes Centre
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Fellowship
财政年份：
2015
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2015 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FM014045%2F1
关键词：
Understanding molecular control senescence nutrient

项目摘要

Wheat is one of the world's most important crops providing over 20% of calories eaten by mankind. However, wheat not only provides calories, it is also a vital source of other nutrients including protein and minerals such as iron and zinc. Protein and mineral malnutrition affects over 30% of the world's population, so if we could improve the levels of nutrients in the grain of staple crops such as wheat, it could have a dramatic impact on the health and lives of people across the globe.The nutrient content of wheat grain is intimately linked to the controlled death (senescence) of the plant. There is an important trade-off between prolonging the life of the plant to maximise yield, and ensuring that nutrients are released from dying parts of the plant (e.g. leaves) to the grain. Scientists have often studied the senescence of leaves and grain development separately. I hypothesize that if we understand the integrated process from the dying leaves to the developing grain we will be able to improve the amount of nutrients entering the grain, without reducing yield. I propose to improve our understanding of nutrient movement from the leaves into the grain, and its relationship with senescence, in three main ways. Firstly I will study the genes involved in these processes in plants with normal and reduced ability to move nutrients into their grain. This will identify which genes are key control points. Secondly I will explore where genes known to be involved in nutrient movement and senescence are active in the plant and what their functions are. Thirdly I will identify mutant plants which have altered rates of senescence and identify which genes are changed in these plants, to understand the senescence process in more detail. Currently very few genes have been identified in wheat to be important in controlling senescence and nutrient content. This project will identify several of the most important genes representing a step change in understanding which genes control senescence and nutrient content in wheat. This information will be useful to crop breeders and biotechnologists to improve the nutrient content of wheat grain without reducing the yield.

小麦是世界上最重要的农作物之一，提供了人类20%以上的卡路里摄入量。然而，小麦不仅提供热量，还是其他营养素的重要来源，包括蛋白质和铁、锌等矿物质。蛋白质和矿物质营养不良影响着世界上超过 30% 的人口，因此，如果我们能够提高小麦等主要农作物的营养水平，可能会对全球人民的健康和生活产生巨大影响。小麦籽粒的营养成分与植物的受控死亡（衰老）密切相关。在延长植物寿命以最大化产量和确保营养物质从植物死亡部分（例如叶子）释放到谷物之间存在重要的权衡。科学家经常分别研究叶子的衰老和谷物的发育。我假设，如果我们了解从枯死的叶子到发育中的谷物的完整过程，我们将能够提高进入谷物的养分量，而不会降低产量。我建议通过三个主要方式提高我们对养分从叶子到谷物的运动及其与衰老的关系的理解。首先，我将研究植物中参与这些过程的基因，这些植物将营养物质转移到谷物中的能力正常和降低。这将确定哪些基因是关键控制点。其次，我将探讨已知参与养分运动和衰老的基因在植物中的活跃位置及其功能。第三，我将鉴定出衰老率发生改变的突变植物，并鉴定这些植物中哪些基因发生了变化，以更详细地了解衰老过程。目前，在小麦中很少有基因被发现对控制衰老和营养成分具有重要作用。该项目将确定几个最重要的基因，这代表着在了解哪些基因控制小麦衰老和营养成分方面发生了重大变化。这些信息将有助于作物育种者和生物技术人员在不降低产量的情况下提高小麦籽粒的营养成分。