Progress 12/01/09 to 05/31/13
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities included molecular biology and biochemical laboratory experiments conducted to characterize the mechanisms by which several anthocyanin biosynthetic genes are controlled and to establish which components of the regulatory complexes contact DNA. Training included the 2012 Summer Practical Workshop in Functional Genomics. Products included publications and presentations of the results here generated at seminars and conferences. PARTICIPANTS: Erich Grotewold, Principal Investigator, oversees all aspects of this project. Kengo Morohashi, Research Scientist, assisted with all the ChIP experiments. A partner collaborator in some aspects of this project continues to be Dr. Ling Yuan at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. Lorena Falcone-Ferreyra was a visiting scholar in the Grotewold lab and contributed to the characterization of maize flavonol synthase genes. TARGET AUDIENCES: Efforts as part of this project include numerous lectures given by PI Grotewold, as well as introducing concepts derived from the studies presented here in classes and workshops. The Grotewold lab also hosts visiting scholars from various countries, one of them (Lorena Falcone-Ferreyra) participated in several aspects of this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The research in this project established the mechanisms by which maize controls the accumulation of anthocyanin pigments. Anthocyanins are not only an idea model system to elucidate basic aspects of gene regulation, but they are of significant agronomic importance. Results from this project impact not just maize, but also how other plants control these pigments. The outcomes and impact of this project are of significance at several different levels: From the perspective of control of gene expression in plants, our findings on the mechanisms of control of anthocyanin accumulation in maize continue to be at the forefront, providing an example that is extensively used in other plants. From the perspective of technology development, our studies have streamlined the utilization of chromatin immunoprecipitation in maize. From the perspective of engineering plants (either by breeding or by transgenic approaches), our results provided tools and information that describe the key components, particularly from the perspective of transcription factor-DNA interactions.
Publications
- Kong, Q., Pattanaik, S., Feller, A., Werkman, J.R., Chai, C., Wang, Y., Grotewold, E., and Yuan, L. (2012) A regulatory switch enforced by bHLH and ACT domain-mediated dimerizations of the maize transcription factor R. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 109: E2091-E2097.
- Falcone-Ferreyra, M.L., Casas, M.I., Questa, Q., Herrera, L., Deblasio, S., Wang, J., Jackson, D., Grotewold, E., and Casati., P. (2012) Evolution and expression of tandem duplicated maize flavonol synthase genes. Frontiers Plant Gen. & Genom. 3: Article 101.
|
Progress 12/01/10 to 11/30/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities included molecular biology and biochemical laboratory experiments conducted to characterize the mechanisms by which several anthocyanin biosynthetic genes are controlled and to establish which components of the regulatory complexes contact DNA. Training included the completion of the PhD of Antje Feller (defended in 2010), who participated actively in this project, and who during 2011 moved to a postdoctoral position at IASMA (Instituto Agrario San Michele all'Adige, Italy). Products included publications and presentations of the results here generated at seminars and conferences. PARTICIPANTS: Erich Grotewold, Principal Investigator, oversees all aspects of this project. Antje Feller, former graduate student and postdoc, conducted many of the protoplast transformation and promoter dissection experiments. Some of this experiments were continued by Andrea Lorena, a visiting scholar in the lab between July - Dec. 2011, and Maria Isabel Casas, a PhD student. Kengo Morohashi, Research Scientist, assisted with all the ChIP experiments. A partner collaborator in some aspects of this project continues to be Dr. Ling Yuan at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. TARGET AUDIENCES: Efforts as part of this project include numerous lectures given by PI Grotewold, as well as introducing concepts derived from the studies presented here in classes and workshops. The Grotewold lab also hosts visiting scholars from various countries, one of them (Andrea Lorena) participated in several aspects of this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The outcomes and impact of this project were at several different levels: From the perspective of control of gene expression in plants, our findings on the mechanisms of control of anthocyanin accumulation in maize continues to be at the forefront, establishing novel mechanisms by which basic helix-loop-helix proteins function with R2R3-MYB transcription factors to control gene expression, providing an example that is extensively used in other plants such as crops, vegetables and fruits. From the perspective of technology development, our studies have streamlined the utilization of chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) in maize. The utilization of this technique permitted us to directly link regulators of flavonoid genes with the corresponding targets.
Publications
- Feller, A., Machemer, K., Braun, E.L., and Grotewold, E. (2011) Evolutionary and comparative analysis of MYB and bHLH plant transcription factors. Plant J. 66: 94-116.
|
Progress 12/01/09 to 11/30/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities included molecular biology and biochemical laboratory experiments conducted to characterize the promoters of several anthocyanin biosynthetic genes and to establish which components of the regulatory complexes contact DNA. Events included the Summer Practical Workshop in Functional Genomics that took place at OSU (Columbus) in June/July 2010. Training included the completion of the PhD of Antje Feller, who has actively participated in this project. products so far include presentations of the results generated here at seminars and conferences. PARTICIPANTS: Erich Grotewold, Principal Investigator, oversees all aspects of this project. Antje Feller, former graduate student and postdoc since September (moving to a postdoc in Italy in January 2011), conducted all the protoplast transformation and promoter dissection experiments. Kengo Morohashi, postdoc, assisted with all the ChIP experiments. A partner collaborator in some aspects of this project is Dr. Ling Yuan at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience for the efforts in this project include the plant scientific community as a whole through publications and presentations at seminars and meetings, as well as undergraduate and graduate students that participate in the project directly, or that indirectly benefit from it through the workshop and other educational activities. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
The outcomes of the project so far can be evaluated at several levels. We became significantly more experienced in sophisticated laboratory techniques such as chromatin immunprecipitation (ChIP), and in the use of protoplasts for transient expression experiments to replace bombardment. This is resulting in increased speed and reduced costs.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|
|