Investigation of Mechanisms that Control the Transition to Flowering in Higher Plants

控制高等植物开花过渡的机制研究

• 批准号: RGPIN-2017-03930
• 负责人: Colasanti, Joseph
• 金额: $ 2.84万
• 依托单位: University of Guelph
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=761143
• 关键词: Investigation; Mechanisms; Control; Transition; Flowering

Plant biologists have been slowly deciphering how plants control flowering time for over a century. Until recently the nature of the signals that cause plants to flower remained a complete mystery. Early researchers discovered that a flower-inducing substance is synthesized in leaves and then transported a long distance to the central shoot of the plant to a region of stem cells from which the actual flowers originate. My research uses the tools of molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry and genomics to better understand the nature of the flowering process. Our research revolves around the study of the maize INDETERMINATE1 gene, or ID1, which is critically important for flowering. Maize plants with a functional version of this gene flower at the proper time, whereas maize plants with a defective ID1 gene flower very late and produce aberrant flowers. We used molecular techniques to isolate and characterize the ID1 gene and found that it encodes a zinc finger transcription factor protein that acts in leaves as a master regulator of other genes. This suggests that ID1 causes flowering in maize by turning 'on' or 'off' the genes that control the long distance leaf signal. There are three main goals of this proposal: 1) identify genes that are controlled by the ID1 gene, 2) characterize the molecular, biochemical and physiological components in plants that make up the leaf signals that specify time to flower; and 3) work out the basic molecular mechanism used by ID1 to make genes active or inactive. Recently we found evidence that one way that ID1 may control genes is by epigenetic mechanisms. Epigenetics represents an exciting new paradigm in our understanding of how genes are controlled. Ultimately we aim to decipher the epigenetic mechanisms that underpin ID1 function leading to the biochemical components and metabolic changes that affect the flowering process. Discovering how flowering time works is vitally important to agriculture. Global climate change, coupled with an expanding population, will have a severe impact on the world food supply. A better understanding of flowering in maize and agriculturally important relatives such as wheat, rice, sorghum and sugarcane could help stabilize food production. The ability to control time to flowering is of fundamental importance to agriculture because plants coordinate flowering for optimal seed and fruit production. Therefore understanding flowering will help to improve the productivity of vital crop plants.

植物生物学家一直在缓慢地解密植物如何控制开花时间一个多世纪。直到最近，导致植物开花的信号的性质仍然是一个完全的谜。早期的研究人员发现，在叶子中合成了诱导花的物质，然后将很长的距离转移到植物的中央芽到实际花产生的干细胞区域。我的研究使用分子生物学，遗传学，生物化学和基因组学的工具来更好地了解开花过程的性质。我们的研究围绕着对玉米不确定1基因或ID1的研究，这对于开花至关重要。玉米在适当的时间植物具有该基因花的功能形式，而玉米植物的植物很晚就会产生有缺陷的ID1基因花，并产生异常的花朵。我们使用分子技术来隔离和表征ID1基因，并发现它编码了锌指转录因子蛋白，该蛋白充当叶片作为其他基因的主调节剂。这表明ID1通过打开控制长叶信号的基因来引起玉米中的开花。该提案的主要目标有三个主要目标：1）识别由ID1基因控制的基因，2）在植物中表征分子，生化和生理成分，这些分子构成了指定花费时间的叶片信号； 3）弄清ID1用来使基因活跃或无活性的基本分子机制。最近，我们发现证据表明，ID1可以控制基因的一种方法是表观遗传机制。表观遗传学代表了我们对基因的控制方式的一种令人兴奋的新范式。最终，我们的目标是破译基于ID1功能的表观遗传机制，从而导致生化成分和影响开花过程的代谢变化。发现开花时间的工作原理对农业至关重要。全球气候变化，再加上人口的扩大，将对世界粮食供应产生严重影响。更好地了解玉米和农业重要的亲戚（例如小麦，大米，高粱和甘蔗）可以帮助稳定粮食生产。控制时间开花的能力对农业至关重要，因为植物协调开花以获得最佳的种子和水果生产。因此，了解开花将有助于提高重要作物的生产率。