This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2009. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow who also presents a plan to broaden participation in biology. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to Rebecca Davidson is "Dissecting biochemical pathways associated with plant development traits using a systems biology approach in rice, a model plant species." The research and training supported by this fellowship is being conducted at Michigan State University under the sponsorship of Dr. Robin Buell.
Rice (Oryza sativa) is an economically important crop worldwide. It was the first monocot plant to be the subject of large scale studies of its genome, its total genetic makeup, and the patterns of expression of the genes, the transcriptome. A recent genome-wide assessment of genetic diversity among twenty distinct varieties of rice (OryzaSNP set) resulted in the identification of over 150,000 polymorphic sites. Given this array of genomic and genetic data, as well as the availability of advanced plant materials, rice is an excellent biological system for studying the complex interactions and genetic determinants controlling plant development traits in nature. This project is generating both global transcript profiles and metabolite fingerprints for phenotypically diverse and well-genotyped rice varieties. These datasets are being integrated with a variety of trait data using a holistic approach toward understanding the genes influencing biochemical processes that are integral to rice development.
This project affords the Fellow training opportunities in computational methods for high throughput data analysis, database and website design, statistical genetic analyses and biochemical pathway modeling. The fellowship increases the participation of underrepresented groups at the postdoctoral level and through mentoring graduate and undergraduate students. The extensive biochemical phenotyping of the OryzaSNP set is part of a larger effort to improve rice production and provide a comprehensive framework for systems biology studies in plants.
