| NSF Org: |
IOS Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 9, 2016 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 24, 2021 |
| Award Number: | 1546742 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Gerald Schoenknecht
IOS Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences |
| Start Date: | August 15, 2016 |
| End Date: | July 31, 2022 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $2,707,714.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $2,707,714.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2017 = $720,673.00 FY 2018 = $173,732.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
21 N PARK ST STE 6301 MADISON WI US 53715-1218 (608)262-3822 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
Madison WI US 53715-1218 |
| 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): |
Plant Genome Research Project, Cross-BIO Activities |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001617DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01001718DB 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
Part 1: Non-technical abstract
The roots of crop plants contain important microorganisms that allow the plants and microbes to satisfy their nutritional needs. The relationship between these two very different types of organisms is called symbiotic because both partners benefit from the association. The plant converts sunlight and carbon dioxide into sugars and other organic compounds that are supplied to the microbes in the roots. The microbes provide phosphate and nitrogen to the plant in forms that the plant can readily ingest. These symbiotic associations permit the growth of some crops without added fertilizer. For example, plants are unable to convert gaseous nitrogen in the atmosphere into a reduced form that can be incorporated into the proteins, vitamins and other critical biomolecules that allow them to germinate, develop and grow. Certain crops, such as the legumes (e.g., beans, peas and alfalfa) harbor nitrogen-converting bacteria within specialized structures in their roots that provide this reduced nitrogen to the plant. Most crops do not have these bacteria and must rely on the application of nitrogen fertilizer for optimal growth. This project seeks to obtain a molecular understanding of this symbiotic association between plant and microbes, with a long-term goal of enabling such an association in non-leguminous crops like corn and wheat, which currently require extensive fertilization to sustain crop yield. A broader impact of this project is a summer Plant Proteomics Workshop, which provides training in proteomic and genomic profiling to the entire plant research community.
Part 2: Technical abstract
This project seeks to profile the early molecular events in the recognition of and response to symbiotic microbes (nitrogen-fixing rhizobia and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) by the model legume crop, Medicago truncatula and the model monocot, rice. This approach will enable a comparison at the molecular level of the mechanisms by which these two crop groups recognize their beneficial microbes. The analysis of the shared and distinct chemical and genetic factors in these two systems should provide tools and information to enable the engineering of beneficial associations between cereal crops (e.g., rice, corn, wheat) and nitrogen-fixing rhizobia. The specific aims are (1) the identification of host proteins modified by phosphorylation, acetylation or ubiquitinylation in first hour following signal reception, and validation of potentially active candidates from this and from the previous project award period, (2) the integration of proteomic and transcriptomic responses into networks that can be compared in the two species, using informatics and computational modeling, and (3) a high-throughput screen for symbiosis factors using a newly developed chemical genomics chip system. This project will expand a Plant Proteomics Workshop for training in the latest large-scale proteomic and genomic profiling technologies.
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.
In this project an interdisciplinary team of scientists brought together their disparate expertise to help answer critical questions on basic research in the area of how plants and microbes communicate. More specifically, the group asked the question, "What molecules do plants and microbes secrete into the rhizosphere so that they can decide whether a friend or foe is nearby". A secondary question the group tackled was " What molecules in the plant are required for being able to dicpher this chemical internet message, so that the plant can distinguish between a microbe that is its friend (e.g. nitrogen fixing symbiotic bacteria or mycorrhizal fungi) versus its foe (i.e. pathogenic bacteria and fungi)? The group used state of the art instrumentation and expertise in the areas of plant and microbial genetics, microscopy, mass spectrometry and computational 'informatics' approaches that allowed a seamless integration of the results of important genomic measurements. In addition to the research outcome of publications and career advancement for university-based scientists, the group also led a week long summer workshop in which biologists learned how to perform and interpret mass spectrometeric based measurements of the metabolome and proteome, in their favorite organism of interest. Scientists from all over the country and world came to UW-Madison physically or electronically (during the pandemic) during the summer to participate in this very useful educational tool to help the project succeed in its broader impact objective.
Last Modified: 10/30/2022
Modified by: Michael R Sussman
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