
NSF Org: |
MCB Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences |
Recipient: |
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Initial Amendment Date: | August 1, 2011 |
Latest Amendment Date: | March 5, 2012 |
Award Number: | 1120323 |
Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
Program Manager: |
Gregory W. Warr
MCB Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences |
Start Date: | August 1, 2011 |
End Date: | July 31, 2015 (Estimated) |
Total Intended Award Amount: | $526,124.00 |
Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $539,874.00 |
Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2012 = $13,750.00 |
History of Investigator: |
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Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1850 RESEARCH PARK DR STE 300 DAVIS CA US 95618-6153 (530)754-7700 |
Sponsor Congressional District: |
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Primary Place of Performance: |
1850 RESEARCH PARK DR STE 300 DAVIS CA US 95618-6153 |
Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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Parent UEI: |
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NSF Program(s): | Systems and Synthetic Biology |
Primary Program Source: |
01001213DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
Program Reference Code(s): |
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Program Element Code(s): |
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Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.074 |
ABSTRACT
Hydrolyzable tannins are a group of plant polyphenolic compounds that act as chemical defenses against microbes, insects and vertebrate herbivores. Hydrolyzable tannins also impact soil nutrient dynamics and affect the germination, growth and development of other plant species. Besides imparting astringent taste sensations, hydrolyzable tannins also enhance the nutritional quality of plant foods due to their antioxidant, anticancer and cardioprotective activities. Despite these important functions that hydrolyzable tannins play in plants and humans, large and significant gaps remain in our understanding of the molecular and biochemical mechanisms underlying hydrolyzable tannin biosynthesis in plants. This project will investigate the key enzymatic steps leading to hydrolyzable tannin biosynthesis using strawberry and pomegranate as model systems. Cloning of hydrolyzable tannin biosynthetic genes will facilitate modification of plant composition for improved protein utilization in forage crops. Underpinning hydrolyzable tannin biogenesis will also broaden our understanding of plant defense mechanisms, as well as plant-soil and plant-plant (allelopathic) interactions.
Broader Impacts
In addition to the scientific impacts, various aspects of the research will be used to provide multidisciplinary training opportunities, encompassing molecular biology, biochemistry, and cell biology, to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars. The educational activities at the undergraduate level will be focused on three areas: providing research opportunities to new UC Davis transfer students, promoting career access among women and underrepresented minority students, and retaining students from low-income families. Another major focus of the educational activities is to prepare graduate students and postdoctoral scholars for their future independent careers in science. An outreach program is currently being developed to expose high school students to research activities and biotechnological applications through internships in the PI's laboratory.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Plants synthesize specialized chemicals that play important roles in ensuring optimal plant growth and effective defense against pathogens and predators; healthy plants can provide abundant food and medicine for human nutrition and health, as well as biomass for biofuel production. Our investigations centered on understanding how a group of specialized chemicals named hydrolyzable tannins are synthesized in plants. Although many beneficial activities have been reported for hydrolyzable tannins in animals and humans, there is a gap in our understanding of their production in plants, knowledge that is necessary for dissecting the mechanistic basis of their biological activities in mammals. Through our current research, we obtained genes involved in hydrolyzable tannin biosynthesis and demonstrated for the first time their functions in plants. Isolation of hydrolyzable tannin biosynthetic genes provides critical molecular tools for modification of hydrolyzable tannin composition and content in plants with the goal of delineating cancer suppression mechanisms of these specialized chemicals in humans or improving protein utilization in forage crops for animal consumption. Elucidation of hydrolyzable tannin biosynthesis will also broaden our understanding of general plant defense mechanisms, as well as plant-soil and plant-plant interactions. Various aspects of this research were used to provide multidisciplinary training opportunities, encompassing molecular biology, biochemistry and cell biology, to high school, undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. In addition, we focused our educational activities on promoting career access among women and underrepresented minority students, retaining students from low-income families and preparing graduate students and postdoctoral researchers for their future independent careers in science. The PI has also incorporated topics on phytonutrients and human health into her classroom curriculum and developed an outreach program that exposed high school students to research activities and biotechnological applications through internships in the PI’s laboratory.
Last Modified: 07/17/2015
Modified by: Li Tian
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