| NSF Org: |
IOS Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems |
| Recipient: |
|
| Initial Amendment Date: | November 2, 2012 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | January 18, 2017 |
| Award Number: | 1237880 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Clifford Weil
cweil@nsf.gov (703)292-4668 IOS Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences |
| Start Date: | November 1, 2012 |
| End Date: | October 31, 2017 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $2,636,571.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $2,851,735.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2015 = $879,736.00 FY 2017 = $215,164.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
|
| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1 BUNGTOWN RD COLD SPG HBR NY US 11724-2202 (516)367-8307 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
|
| Primary Place of Performance: |
1 Bungtown Road Cold Spring Harbor NY US 11724-2209 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
|
| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
|
| Parent UEI: |
|
| NSF Program(s): | Plant Genome Research Project |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001516DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01001718DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
|
| Program Element Code(s): |
|
| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.074 |
ABSTRACT
PI: Zachary B. Lippman (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
Co-PIs: Michael C. Schatz (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) and Joyce Van Eck (Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research)
Key Collaborators: Molly Hammell and Jesse Gillis (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
Plants show remarkable variation in the number of flowers they produce during their lifetime. This widespread variation traces back to differences in how, when, and where plants switch from making leaves to making flowers - the flowering transition. Although vitally important to crop yields, the transition to flowering and the subsequent effects on shoot growth and flower production remain poorly understood in many types of plants. For example, it is still not known why one plant will form just a single flower each time there is a flowering transition, as in pepper, and yet another plant will grow dozens of branches bearing hundreds of flowers, as in some types of tomato. To address this fundamental question in plant biology, this project is uniting a unique set of genetic, genomic, and natural variation tools in tomato and related Solanaceae plants, such as pepper, potato, and petunia, to reveal the genes and networks controlling how, when, and where plants undergo flowering transitions throughout development to continuously generate new branches and flowers. By analyzing a wide range of tomato mutants and wild Solanaceae species reflecting a wide range of flower production, this research will identify and characterize the differences in gene expression and DNA sequences that underlie variation in flowering transitions and flower production. This multi-dimensional project will provide the most detailed information yet on the key genetic regulators that drive the initiation and production of flowers in both agricultural and wild plants, which will enable the application of novel strategies to improve crop yields. The Solanaceae comprise the most valuable family for vegetable crop production, and we will deliver to both the public and scientific community broad genetic and genomic data in tomato, pepper, and edible wild Solanaceae species that have the potential to become agriculturally important crops.
This project will train high school and college students in interdisciplinary plant research, and a unique outreach program has been developed with an elementary school in Queens, New York to excite young students about plant biology and to explain the importance of integrating multiple research disciplines to create the knowledge and tools that will ensure food security. Students will meet scientists, experience plant genetic research in their own school, experiment in a "Virtual Greenhouse" with kid-friendly genetics games, and practice science writing. Each year, several students will be awarded a daylong visit to CSHL to experience firsthand, modern plant biology research. All data from this project, including gene expression, genetic mapping, network analyses, and computational tools for analyzing DNA sequences will be made publically available immediately after passing quality control. All DNA sequence data will be deposited in Genbank (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Genbank/), the SOL Genomics Network (SGN) website (http://www.sgn.cornell.edu/), and a project web site that will be developed.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
Note:
When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external
site maintained by the publisher. Some full text articles may not yet be available without a
charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from
this site.
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.
A major driver of crop yield is the number of flowers that are produced on each plant, which serves as the foundation for fruit and seed production. For example, flowers are the first step in making the kernels of corn, the seeds of sunflower, and the fruits of tomato. The flowers in these and all other crops form on reproductive branches known as inflorescences. Long ago it was shown that inflorescences begin to grow after environmental cues, such as changes in day-length and temperature, cause the plant to shift growth from leaf production to flower production. Over the past 20 years, a framework of the genes involved in the complex processes of flowering and flower production has been revealed in a handful of research plants. However, surprisingly little was known about the roles of these genes in many crops, and in particular fruit crops. For example, it was unclear whether the same or different genes controlled flowering in different types of plants. This project has focused on studying the genes that control flower and fruit production in tomato and related crop plants in the nightshade family, such as eggplant, pepper, and potato. By studying a large collection of tomato varieties that make different numbers of flowers due to natural and induced DNA mutations, the research completed in this project discovered many known and new genes that initiate reproductive growth and determine how many branches and flowers are produced on inflorescences throughout the life of a plant. The project used a combination of new DNA sequencing tools and powerful gene editing technology known as CRISPR to study more than 10 "flowering" genes, many of which explain differences in flower production between related nightshade plants. Most significantly, the genes discovered in this project were used to improve agriculture, by showing that major yield traits, such as plant size, inflorescence branch number, and fruit size, could be customized and optimized in hybrid plants. More broadly, the outcomes of this project have led to new principles for translating fundamental discoveries in plant biology to agriculture. As well, the project trained many students at different levels of education, from elementary to post-graduate. This included an impactful outreach program with an elementary school in Queens, New York for 4th and 5th graders that explained the importance of plant research and the roles of DNA and genes in improving the food we eat. The program allowed the students to meet the scientists working on the project and experience hands-on plant research to learn how plants grow and can be improved using new genetic technology. All data from this project was made publically available for further exploration and analysis.
Last Modified: 11/14/2017
Modified by: Zachary B Lippman
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.
