The CAREER project develops a research and educational program on the analysis of plant steroid activity in maize. Manipulation of plant architecture is the most effective way to improve yield in crops. Traditional breeding has increased yield through traits such as plant height, branching and sex determination. A class of plant steroid hormones called brassinosteroids (BRs) has recently been identified as growth regulators, which play an important role in cell division and elongation. They are also important for developmental processes such as fruit formation, leaf development, seed set, and germination. The long-term goal of this project is to analyze the role of BRs on plant growth and sex determination in maize. Maize is a uniquely suited object for investigations of sex determination and plant architecture as unisexual flowers of male (tiller) and female (ear) sex are formed on the same plant and the stem architecture has been changed through breeding to a mainly unbranched central stem. A genetic approach employing resources from the maize research community as well as plant material generated at Purdue University allows the characterization of BR biosynthesis mutants and their signaling network. This project integrates genetic, genomic, and cellular approaches to investigate the network of phytohormone responses in maize. Understanding the main regulatory processes that control plant growth and differentiation allows the manipulation of desired traits in important crops, to improve food, feed and biofuel production.
Another goal of this CAREER award is to improve the communication skills of future scientists, which is essential for public understanding and acceptance of often-complicated scientific processes and results. The educational plan will develop a ten-part "Digital Plant Science Library", which will be used to support formal classroom learning of undergraduate students. It is also designed to serve as recruiting tool for middle and high school students and for informal learning. This activity will open up new paths for communicating and learning about plant science and increasing scientific literacy in general. Through this activity, students will gain a unique expertise in fields not part of their traditional curricula.
