| NSF Org: |
IOS Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 24, 2020 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 31, 2023 |
| Award Number: | 2026561 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Anna Allen
akallen@nsf.gov (703)292-8011 IOS Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2020 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2025 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $1,132,300.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $1,132,300.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2021 = $341,715.00 FY 2023 = $299,022.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
3 RUTGERS PLZ NEW BRUNSWICK NJ US 08901-8559 (848)932-0150 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
190 Frelinghuysen Rd Piscataway NJ US 08854-8020 |
| 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 FUNGAL & MICROB DEV MECH, Plant Genome Research Project |
| Primary Program Source: |
01002223DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01002324DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01002122DB 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
The regulation of the size of meristems, groups of plant stem cells, plays an important role in plant development and crop productivity. Increases in meristem size achieved during the domestication of several crop species resulted in bigger fruits and inflorescences, and continue to offer great potential to increase yield. This proposal will provide a thorough understanding of the genetic and molecular mechanisms essential for increasing ear size in maize, a major crop worldwide, that can potentially translate to increased yields in commercial hybrids. The research will be integrated with active scientific training of high school students, and with a new research-based teaching module that combines classic genetic analysis with translational research tailored to graduate students.
At the heart of the regulatory network controlling meristem size is the transcription factor WUSCHEL (WUS). WUSCHEL function has been proposed to have diversified between monocot and eudicot species. In maize, however, WUS function has yet to be explored, despite its importance in plant development and its recent use in plant transformation technologies. The proposed research will reveal the function of duplicated WUS genes in maize and their role as transcriptional repressors by combining genetic analysis and transgenic approaches with single cell transcriptomics of maize inflorescences. This work aims to uncover key mechanistic details of meristem size regulation in maize and monocots in general, answering long-standing questions regarding evolutionary conservation or diversification of WUS function, and to reveal new regulatory targets that could be genetically manipulated to increase maize yield and improve transformation efficiency.
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.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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