NSF Org:	EES Div. of Equity for Excellence in STEM
Recipient:	SAINT AUGUSTINE'S UNIVERSITY
Initial Amendment Date:	May 8, 2019
Latest Amendment Date:	April 25, 2024
Award Number:	1901221
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Leroy Jones II ljones@nsf.gov  (703)292-4684 EES  Div. of Equity for Excellence in STEM EDU  Directorate for STEM Education
Start Date:	May 15, 2019
End Date:	April 30, 2025 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$299,926.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$299,926.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2019 = $299,926.00
History of Investigator:	Tyrell Carr (Principal Investigator) tcarr@st-aug.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	Saint Augustine's College 1315 OAKWOOD AVE RALEIGH NC  US  27610-2247 (919)516-4533
Sponsor Congressional District:	02
Primary Place of Performance:	Saint Augustine's College NC  US  27610-2247
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	02
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	MATKQHRN8EB3
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	Hist Black Colleges and Univ
Primary Program Source:	04001920DB NSF Education & Human Resource
Program Reference Code(s):	9178
Program Element Code(s):	159400
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.076

ABSTRACT

Research Initiation Awards provide support for junior and mid-career faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities who are building new research programs or redirecting and rebuilding existing programs. It is expected that the award helps to further the faculty member's research capability and effectiveness, improves research and teaching at the home institution, and involves undergraduate students in research experiences. The award to Saint Augustine's College intends to identify and characterize plant cofactor capped RNAs using biochemical, computational and molecular approaches to uncover new regulatory mechanisms in plants. Undergraduate students will be included in the project and will gain laboratory training and preparation for STEM careers.

The overall goal of this project is to dissect and rewire plant signaling in model organisms to enhance crop resilience to environmental challenges such climate and weather change. The objectives are to isolate and identify 5'-NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) capped RNAs and 5'-CoA (coenzyme A) capped RNAs from plants and to examine de-capping mechanisms of 5'-NAD+ capped RNAs in plants. This study will contribute to the understanding of plant 5'-NAD+ capped RNAs and 5'-CoA capped RNAs functioning as cellular metabolic sensors to regulate gene expression and/or regulate metabolic signaling pathways. This will involve the modification of the terminal nicotinamide on 5'-NAD+ capped RNAs to an alkyne that is suitable for biotinylation through chemoenzymatic and click-chemistry processing followed by cDNA synthesis for high-throughput sequencing.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

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