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domingo, 23 de octubre de 2016

NSF : NSF awards $44 million for genomic research on range of plants, many economically important .- Premios NSF $ 44 millones para la investigación genómica en la gama de muchas plantas, de importancia económica

https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=190076&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click

Grants will fund plant research relevant to science and society

A genome-level approach to balancing the vitamins in maize, or corn, grain is a PGRP project.
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October 20, 2016

To advance the basic science needed to improve agricultural practices, reduce demands on environmental resources, and address climate change challenges, the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) has awarded new grants totaling $44 million.

"For almost two decades, the PGRP has accelerated basic knowledge in plant genomics, with broad relevance to the scientific research community and to society," says James Olds, NSF assistant director for Biological Sciences. "These awards will continue to break new ground in understanding the biological principles needed to solve environmental and food security challenges today and in the future."

New directions in plant genomics research, and advances in technology and bioinformatics, have enabled scientists to address basic questions and achieve a systems-level understanding of economically-important plants and plant processes. That understanding is critical to achieving goals such as crop improvement.

PGRP awardees will investigate subjects such as the gene regulatory networks required to make soybean seeds; achieving a genome-level understanding of seed biochemistry that will lead to balancing the vitamin content of maize, or corn, grain; discovering how perennial crops adapt and become resilient to climate change; leveraging natural variance in tomatoes to find new sources of disease resistance; and defining the epigenetic (external or environmental factors that switch genes on and off) variations in long-lived trees.

"The large-scale data produced by PGRP awardees are usable, accessible, and of high impact across the biological sciences," says Jane Silverthorne, NSF deputy assistant director for Biological Sciences. "Training and career advancement in plant genomics are essential elements of scientific progress in this field."

There's a critical need, plant biologists say, for training in the use of new tools and technologies, especially for scientists with expertise in traditional plant biology fields such as plant anatomy, breeding, physiology and biochemistry.

New tools and methodologies are also needed to tackle questions that are difficult to answer with current approaches, and to help knowledge from the lab make its way into wider practice.

This year's PGRP grants support research on basic questions in plant science on a genome-wide scale; development of tools and resources for plant genome research, including new technologies; mid-career investigator research aimed at increasing participation of scientists trained primarily in fields other than plant genomics; and early career investigator research likely to interest scientists at the beginning stages of their careers in pursuing plant genome research.

-NSF-

Media Contacts Cheryl Dybas, NSF, (703) 292-7734, cdybas@nsf.gov

Related WebsitesNSF PGRP News: Sunflowers move from east to west, and back, by the clock: https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=139271
Frequently Asked Questions: NSF Plant Genome Research Program: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2017/nsf17017/nsf17017.jsp

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2016, its budget is $7.5 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 48,000 competitive proposals for funding and makes about 12,000 new funding awards. NSF also awards about $626 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

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PGRP scientists are adapting perennial crops for climate change. Pictured: grapevine shoots.
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PGRP grantees are conducting research on the Solanaceae, which includes tomatoes and chili peppers.
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The genomic mechanism of domesticating a Y chromosome in papayas is the subject of PGRP research.
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PGRP biologists are studying the gene regulatory networks required to make a soybean seed.
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Investigating the genetic networks in warm season, or C4, grasses is a PGRP project.
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The National Science Foundation (NSF)
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
ayabaca@gmail.com
ayabaca@hotmail.com
ayabaca@yahoo.com
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domingo, 15 de septiembre de 2013

nsf.gov - The National Science Foundation (NSF) - Understanding how our genes help us develop

Humans and fruit flies have similar Hox genes, which are master regulators of embryonic development.-

Robert A. Drewell is an associate professor of biology at Harvey Mudd College.
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September 12, 2013

Hox genes are the master regulators of embryonic development for all animals, including humans, flies and worms. They decide what body parts go where. Not surprisingly, if something goes wrong with these genes, the results can be disastrous.

In Drosophila, the fruit fly, a Hox mutation can produce profound changes--an extra pair of wings, for example, or a set of legs, instead of antennae, growing from the fly's head.

"The job of the Hox genes is to tell cells early on in embryonic development what to become--whether to make an eye, an antenna or wings," says Robert Drewell, associate professor of biology at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Calif. "Just a single mutation in the Hox gene can produce these dramatic anomalies."

Humans have Hox genes too. For this reason, Drewell is trying to understand the molecular function of Hox genes in the fruit fly, including what happens when they work properly and what happens when they don't, in order to learn more about their behavior in humans.

Genetically, humans and fruit flies are very much alike; in fact, many known human disease genes have a recognizable match in the genetic code of the fruit fly. Thus, the information researchers gain from studying flies could provide insights into certain birth defects, such as extra ribs and extra digits, and potentially serious diseases.

"We have exactly the same genes, and use them in exactly the same way," he says. "By understanding them in Drosophila, we can understand them in humans."

Drewell is conducting his research under a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award, which he received in 2009. The award supports junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education, and research within the context of the mission of their organization. He is receiving about $600,000 over five years.

Hox genes have been entirely conserved throughout animal evolution, meaning "since around 530 million years ago, when many complex animal life forms appeared, they had Hox genes," Drewell says.

Fruit flies are model organisms for studying genetics since they have a short lifespan--several generations can be studied in a matter of weeks--and are small and easy to grow. More importantly, they can provide a wealth of information for computational analysis because scientists have deciphered their entire genetic blueprint.

"We live in this post-genomic era, so we can do comparisons across species to look at exactly how the regulatory regions at Hox genes are changing over time," Drewell says.

Drewell's lab uses several different approaches, applying biology, genetics and computational methods to learn more about the behavior of Hox genes.

"We make what are called 'reporter' genes," he says. "We construct these artificial genes in the lab, then reintroduce them back into Drosophila. This allows us to measure what is happening to those genes. The genes we are putting in are combinations of fragments from Hox genes--different DNA regions--and we are testing if these different regions are responsible for regulating when and where the Hox gene is turned on and off."

Through their experiments, "We can look at what genes are turned on and off, and can detect exactly which DNA elements regulate the process, and how they regulate it."

Because the fruit fly's genome is available, "we are able to do comparisons across species to look at exactly how these regulatory regions are changing over time," using computational biology methods, he says. Moreover, "through that process, we can essentially start to get a handle on the role that Hox genes play in controlling cell identify in the developing embryo. We can do this in all animals, including humans."

The educational component of his CAREER grant has allowed Drewell to incorporate new elements to the curriculum, including mathematical and computational approaches, and provides undergraduate students the opportunity to conduct research that typically would not be available to them.

"Harvey Mudd doesn't have a graduate program, so all the research, essentially, is done by undergraduates," Drewell says. "They get an opportunity to do something they might not otherwise get to do. Each student is fully encouraged to take ownership of his or her own project. In this way, this often exposes them to a research field for the very first time and establishes a great foundation for their future endeavors in research."

--	Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation

Investigators Robert Drewell

Related Institutions/Organizations Harvey Mudd College

Locations California

Total Grants $600,000

Related WebsitesDrewell Lab:

http://drewell.sites.hmc.edu/

The National Science Foundation (NSF),

Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui

ayabaca@gmail.com

ayabaca@hotmail.com

ayabaca@yahoo.com

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domingo, 20 de mayo de 2012

Science: Cellular Secrets of Plant Fatty Acid Production Understood

Hi My Friends: A VUELO DE UN QUINDE EL BLOG., A curious twist in a family of plant proteins called chalcone-isomerase recently was discovered by Salk Institute for Biological Studies scientist Joseph Noel and colleagues at Iowa State University led by Eve Wurtele.

Research into the plant protein, chalcone-isomerase, and its family of proteins that are key in fatty acid production will help bio-engineers to contribute to the fields of agriculture, biomedicine and renewable energy. By bringing about changes in the genes for this protein family, researchers discovered an effect on seed oil content that may be beneficial for both plants and humans.

Credit: Zina Deretsky, National Science Foundation

May 13, 2012

A curious twist in a family of plant proteins called chalcone-isomerase recently was discovered by Salk Institute for Biological Studies scientist Joseph Noel and colleagues at Iowa State University led by Eve Wurtele.

Pursuing basic scientific discovery, they found three similar proteins that could soon translate into positive results for bio-renewable fuels, commodity chemicals like plastics, food security and nutrition and biomedicine.

The findings, reported May 13 in the advance online publication of the journal Nature, may lead to higher-yield crops and quantities of oils, help to address growing world demands for food and fuel, and mitigate environmental pressures on stressed ecosystems.

Researchers long wondered about the origin and action of the chalcone-isomerase. They knew it played a key role in producing flavonoids--compounds important to plants for many reasons, including defense as natural sunscreens and antibiotics, as well as attraction of pollinators and development.

Flavonoids are also seen as valuable in disease prevention agents as "nutraceuticals" and in plant-rich diets employed in fighting cancer and other age-related diseases.

Looking into the evolution of the plant protein, the researchers discovered three chalcone-isomerase "cousins" that bind fatty acids.

"This is a beautiful study demonstrating that chalcone-isomerase arose from another important class of proteins, which have no enzymatic activity but bind fatty acids," said Greg Warr, acting deputy director of the National Science Foundation's Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, which funded the study.

"The findings may have important implications for agriculture and biofuel development."

Researchers found the chalcone-isomerase cousins clustered in something called chloroplasts, specialized parts of a cell that serve as the engines of photosynthesis, but are also the key place for making essential fatty acids, including omega-3 fatty acids.

Fatty acids, such as omega-3s, are as important to both plant and human well-being as the flavonoids. Noel and colleagues' research shows that bringing about changes in the genes that encoded for the chalcone-isomerase cousins produced reproductive changes in plants.

Bringing about changes in the genes for this protein family had an effect on seed oil content, something vital for the energy stores of the plant embryo but also for human nutrition and new kinds of renewable fuels.

As the benefits of over a decade of basic research on chalcone-isomerase are reaped, biologists look forward to opening the door for bio-engineers. Armed with the structures of the four proteins, bio-engineers will be able to adjust the plant cellular factory for fatty acid production to the advantage and benefit of agriculture as well as the fields of renewable energy, biorenewable chemicals and biomedicine.

-NSF-

Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui

ayabaca@gmail.com

ayabaca@hotmail.com
ayabaca@yahoo.com
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