Genetic Regulation of Maize Inflorescence Architecture, Crop Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The Purpose of this Program is to Provide Research Experience to Undergraduates and High School Students (REU) within context of NSF Funded Plant Genome project on Genetic Regulation of Maize Inflorescence Architecture, with objectives described at bottom of page.

REU Activites at: Cold Spring Harbor, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, Illinois, Missouri St. Louis Group Interactions At Illinois

20006 pics

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American-Latin American Workshop at University of California, Berkely and PlantGene Expression Center

Our Specific Aims of Genetic Regulation of Maize
Inflorescense Architecture Grant are to:

1. Identify ear- and tassel-expressed genes, not yet available in the public databases, through sequencing of normalized libraries.
2. Identify genes expressed at specific stages of inflorescence development using microarray-based analyses of gene expression to profile ear and tassel development.
3. Identify genes (using microarrays) with altered expression in selected inflorescence mutants arrested at specific stages of inflorescence meristem development.
4. Use bioinformatics analysis on microarray expression profiles to group subsets of genes unique to specific developmental stages and/or inflorescence mutants, and to identify sets of genes regulated coordinately.
5. Target 100 genes, selected on the basis of their interesting sequence and expression profile, for mapping, and determine the function of 30 of these genes using existing reverse genetic resources.
6. Identify new inflorescence genes by screening Mutator insertion libraries and EMS populations derived from inbred lines.
7. Identify and characterize QTL that affect ear and tassel architecture.
8. Analyze gene sequence and expression differences across 8 selected grass species by comparing orthologs of those cloned maize genes for which a mutant inflorescence phenotype exists.

Aims of Pending Renewel Proposal :

The overall goal of our proposal is to understand the genetic networks that
regulate cereal inflorescence development, using the genomic tools in maize
as our focus point. Obviously our project will be hugely impacted and
facilitated by the upcoming maize genome sequence. Our Experimental Plan is to:

1. Use genetic and proteomics methods to integrate the genes we have
isolated into genetic networks and to discover new genes that participate
in these networks.

2. Ask how variation in these genes has shaped inflorescence architecture
variation in maize and selected other cereals, using QTL and association
analysis.

3. Ask how the genes and networks are conserved across the grasses,
including other cereal crops.

4. Continue to integrate outreach into our research activities at home
institutions and expand our outreach program to engage African scientists
in analysis of cereal germplasm.
This multi-pronged approach should synergistically impact our understanding
of inflorescence genetic networks as well as providing links to and tools
for plant breeding, developmental and evolutionary biology, and genomics

Plans for Integration of Research, Education and Developing Country Collaboration in Renewal Proposal Under Consideration for Funding.

We will continue our highly successful outreach program that provides postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, undergraduates, and high school students a broad education in classical and molecular genetics, developmental and evolutionary biology, quantitative genetics and breeding, genomics and bioinformatics. This program was supported by four successful REU supplements (see pictures and descriptions at http://maizensfreu.cropsci.uiuc.edu/). Undergraduate and high school students work in our different labs during the summer and converge at the corn fields of Illinois to participate in mutant screens, measurements of diversity lines, and harvesting tissue for DNA isolations. Recruitment and diversity plans take advantage of unique resources and opportunities associated with each institution; some have access to centers promoting outreach while others are fortunate to be in large, culturally diverse population centers. Each institution has a diversity plan in place for both undergraduate and graduate education. To reach out to the Hispanic student population in California, we have established links with faculty at Cal State San Luis Obispo where we will integrate undergraduates into our summer field work (see R. Ritter and J. Wong letter). We will continue to apply to other funding agencies to support minority high school and undergraduate internships and travel, and minority graduate fellowships. For example the Research Apprentice Program at University of Illinois funded two high school students from urban Chicago, U.C. Leads funded two undergrads at UC Berkeley, and Berkeley Biotech funded one high school student.
We plan to develop a collaborative study with colleagues in Africa to study genetic diversity in African maize, sorghum and pearl millet. These grains are a major source of food for Africans. Lines from established association analysis panels will be supplemented by lines provided by African researchers (see letter from Mark Laing). This combined approach will enable a survey of genetic diversity in African cereal crops, and provide training to African researchers. Inflorescence architecture and other relevant traits will be measured. Of particular interest will be synchrony between days to pollen shed and silk emergence, which is relevant to drought stress and ensuring good pollination [94, 95]. Association panels will be measured in three African environments, enabling evaluation of genotype by environment interactions. Inflorescence architecture traits for sorghum and millet also impact grain yield and susceptibility to fungal diseases in parts of Africa.
In year 1 we will organize materials and experiments in coordination with African scientists attending our Cereal Genomics Workshop in Kenya in September 2006. In year 2, plantings will be in South Africa, Mozambique, and Kenya. We will collaborate and coordinate with the Rockefeller Foundation supported African Centre for Crop Improvement (ACCI), at the University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, which is educating and developing a network of breeders in Africa (see letter from Laing). Members of our group will go to Africa and instruct cooperators how to take measurements, sample leaf tissue and either bring it back or isolate DNA there. In year 3, association panels will be grown a second time and traits measured by African scientists. We will bring African scientists to our labs in the USA to analyze the data and develop analytical skills, which will be more efficient than developing extensive sequencing/genotyping capacity in sub-Saharan Africa. The panels will be grown in Illinois in 2007 and 2008, providing exposure of the African germplasm to our students. The work is complementary in that we can survey diverse African germplasm while the Africans can investigate diversity panels developed elsewhere. In addition, we take advantage of U.S. sequencing capacity and the African researchers learn association analysis and other bioinformatic skills, with results and approaches that can be rapidly integrated into marker assisted selection programs. We envision that the mutually beneficial interaction will continue to benefit all involved long after this grant is over and we will seek to leverage resources.

Useful links
Student comments on summer experience

website by Todd Rocheford

Created by: byTodd Rocheford 2008