The goal of this project is to advance the understanding of how genes important for nutrient accumulation in plant seeds are regulated. Seed production is vital for agriculture, biofuels, and human nutrition. Cereal grains account for over 50% of the world's dietary energy consumption and most of the grain nutrients are stored in a seed compartment called the endosperm. The project uses genetic, genomic, and computational tools to address fundamental seed biology questions, and provides interdisciplinary education and training opportunities for undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers. Undergraduate students will spend three summers in the laboratory and participate directly in the research activities in plant biology. This project will provide critical research experience for the undergraduates and important training for the graduate student and the postdoctoral fellow, thus developing a diverse, globally competitive workforce in this field.
Genomic imprinting influences seed yield by controlling resource allocation to the endosperm where the synthesis and storage of protein, starch, and lipid nutrients occurs. In flowering plants gene imprinting is established by DEMETER (DME) mediated active DNA demethylation. DME encodes a large polypeptide with multiple conserved domains, and except for the well-characterized glycosylase domain, very little is known about the function of the other domains. Elucidating how DME is regulated and directed to proper genomic locations is crucial to advance the knowledge on seed development, and can inspire development of novel molecular strategies for breeding or engineering desirable traits in important crop plants. This project aims to elucidate the roles of these conserved domains on DME activity and seed viability through molecular, genetic, genomic and epigenomic analyses. A novel bipartite model for structural and functional regulation for DME activity is proposed. Understanding why DME adopts modular catalytic and regulatory domain architecture and elucidating how linker histone H1 assists DME mediated active DNA demethylation will significantly increase the understanding of how epigenetic information is established and maintained in plants.
