Progress 01/01/18 to 12/31/21
Outputs Target Audience:The results of this project were incorporated into an undergraduate course at Duke: Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology. Students learned how our studies using tomato as a model system will shed light on improving fruit quality. We are also preparing a manuscript for publication. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A postdoctoral fellow (Dr. Jianhong Hu) and a graduate student (Xiao Li) have participated in this project. The PI met with each postdoctoral researcher/graduate student individually weekly to discuss experimental design and data analysis. Each postdoc/student was encouraged to formulate new hypotheses, design experiments to test the hypotheses, and develop problem solving skills. There were also plenty opportunities for these researchers to give oral presentations. The lab has weekly meetings. Each lab member presents once every 1-2 months. Yearly, each researcher also presents their data at the Developmental, Cell and Molecular Biology seminar series within the Biology Department at Duke, and/or at the NC Plant Molecular Biology Consortium annual retreat. In addition, each researcher was encouraged to present at domestic and international conferences. To prepare for presentations outside the lab, the PI worked with each researcher to improve the quality of the presentation. As for improving writing skills, the PI worked with the researcher to write the manuscript, and to prepare figures. The postdoc also participated in grant writing. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, and will be presented at international meetings What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts What was accomplished under these goals?
We have generated new tomato auxin response factor mutant lines using the CRISPR-Cas9 method. They display parthenocarpy phenotypes, although with different fruit morphology. We have also generated higher order mutants by genetic crosses to study the function of four SlARFs and SlDELLA in tomato fruit initiation and subsequent fruit growth. Transcriptome analysis was performed to identify downstream target genes of SlARFs and SlDELLA.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Sun, T. (2021) Novel nucleocytoplasmic protein O-fucosylation by SPINDLY regulates diverse developmental processes in plants. Current Opinion in Structural Biology 68, 113-121
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Progress 01/01/20 to 12/31/20
Outputs Target Audience:The results of this project were incorporated into an undergraduate course at Duke: Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology. Students learned how our studies using tomato as a model system will shed light on improving fruit quality. We are also preparing a manuscript for publication. Changes/Problems:The COVID-19 pandemic has affected this project significantly. Our experiments with the newly generated transgenic tomato lines were delayed because the Duke facility (greenhouse and laboratories) was shut down for 2 months (Apr-May), followed by restricted entries starting June this year. Therefore, a 1-year no-cost extension is requested to complete the proposed work. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The PI met with each postdoctoral researcher/graduate student individually bi-weekly to discuss experimental design and data analysis. Each postdoc/student was encouraged to formulate new hypotheses, design experiments to test the hypotheses, and develop problem solving skills. There were also plenty opportunities for the postdocs to give oral presentations. The lab has weekly meetings. Each lab member presents once every 1-2 months. Yearly, each researcher also presents their data at the Developmental, Cell and Molecular Biology seminar series within the Biology Department at Duke, and/or at the NC Plant Molecular Biology Consortium annual retreat. In addition, each researcher was encouraged to present at domestic and international conferences. To prepare for presentations outside the lab, the PI worked with each researcher to improve the quality of the presentation. As for improving writing skills, the PI worked with the researcher to write manuscripts, and to prepare figures. The postdoc also participated in grant writing. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, and will be presented at international meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? To study the roles of SlARFs and SlDELLA in tomato fruit initiation, we have generated higher order mutants, which will be used for phenotypic and transcriptome analysis.
Impacts What was accomplished under these goals?
We have generated new tomato auxin response factor mutant lines using the CRISPR-Cas9 method. They display parthenocarpic phenotypes, although with different fruit morphology. We have also generated higher order mutants by genetic crosses to study the function of these ARFs in tomato fruit initiation.
Publications
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Progress 01/01/19 to 12/31/19
Outputs Target Audience:The results of this project were discussed in 2 scientific meetings in 2019. They were also incorporated into an undergraduate course at Duke: Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology. Students learned how our studies using tomato as a model system will shed light on improving fruit quality. The PI also discussed the research data at several research institutes. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The PI met with each postdoctoral researcher individually bi-weekly to discuss experimental design and data analysis. Each postdoc was encouraged to formulate new hypotheses, design experiments to test the hypotheses, and develop problem solving skills. There were also plenty opportunities for the postdocs to give oral presentations. The lab has weekly meetings. Each lab member presents once every 1-2 months. Yearly, each postdoc also presents his data at the Developmental, Cell and Molecular Biology seminar series within the Biology Department at Duke, and/or at the NC Plant Molecular Biology Consortium annual retreat. In addition, each postdoc was encouraged to present at domestic and international conferences. To prepare for presentations outside the lab, the PI worked with each postdoc to improve the quality of the presentation. As for improving writing skills, the PI worked with the postdoc to write manuscripts, and to prepare figures. The postdoc also participated in grant writing. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Publications and oral presentations at meetings What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We will continue to study the roles of SlARFs and SlDELLA in tomato fruit initiation by generating higher order mutants and by biochemical analysis.
Impacts What was accomplished under these goals?
We have generated new tomato auxin response factor mutant lines using the CRISPR-Cas9 method. We are in the process of characterizing these mutants to study the function of ARFs in tomato fruit initiation.
Publications
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Progress 01/01/18 to 12/31/18
Outputs Target Audience:The results of this project were incorporated into an undergraduate course at Duke: Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology. Students learned how our studies using tomato as a model system will shed light on improving fruit quality. The PI also discussed the research data at several research institutes. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Three postdoctoral fellows have participated in this project. The PI met with each postdoctoral researcher individually bi-weekly to discuss experimental design and data analysis. Each postdoc was encouraged to formulate new hypotheses, design experiments to test the hypotheses, and develop problem solving skills. There were also plenty opportunities for the postdocs to give oral presentations. The lab has weekly meetings. Each lab member presents once every 1-2 months. Yearly, each postdoc also presents his data at the Developmental, Cell and Molecular Biology seminar series within the Biology Department at Duke, and/or at the NC Plant Molecular Biology Consortium annual retreat. In addition, each postdoc was encouraged to present at domestic and international conferences. To prepare for presentations outside the lab, the PI worked with each postdoc to improve the quality of the presentation. As for improving writing skills, the PI worked with the postdoc to write manuscripts, and to prepare figures. The postdoc also participated in grant writing. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Publications and oral presentations at meetings What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We will continue to study the roles of SlARFs and SlDELLA in tomato fruit initiation by characterizing transgenic plants containing mutations in these genes and by biochemical analysis.
Impacts What was accomplished under these goals?
In this study, we shed new light into the complex interactions between auxin and gibberellin (GA) pathways in regulating fruit initiation in tomato. Our mutant analysis showed that auxin-induced seedless fruit set in tomato depends on active GA signaling. Our biochemical and molecular studies also showed that GA and auxin regulate tomato fruit initiation through direct crosstalk between GA repressor SlDELLA and auxin signaling components SlARFs/SlIAA9.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
1. Hu J, Israeli A, Ori, N & Sun, T-p (2018) The Interaction Between DELLA and ARF/IAA Mediates Crosstalk between Gibberellin and Auxin Signaling to Control Fruit Initiation in Tomato. Plant Cell, 30, 1710-1728.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
2. Shinozaki Y, Ezura K, Hu J, Okabe Y, Bénard C, Prodhomme D, Gibon Y, Sun T-p, Ezura H, Ariizumi T (2018) Identification and functional study of a mild allele of SlDELLA gene conferring the potential for improved yield in tomato. Scientific Reports. 8: 12043.
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