NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2015

Lemmon Zachary H, Cold Spring Harbor NY

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF National Plant Genome Initiative Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2015. 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 Zachary Lemmon is "Exploring the Role of Meristem Size in the Diversity of Pepper Plant Form". The host institution for the fellowship is Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Zachary Lippman. How the shoot-tip of a plant develops determines plant form in terms of shoot and flower production and thus crop yield. This research will contribute to yield increases in various crops by advancing the understanding of shoot-tip development in bell and other peppers, which are ideal to study because they show substantial diversity of plant form. Training objectives for the Fellow include advanced techniques in molecular biology, computational biology, and development of an independent research program. Broader impacts include training underrepresented high school and undergraduate students in plant research, development of an educational program for 7th/8th grade students covering current issues in plant genetic engineering, and publication of a web portal exploring natural variation and current crop engineering efforts. This research project will address fundamental questions about genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying meristem size and branching diversity in pepper and develop reverse genetics technology to apply principles of pepper branching to improve productivity in peppers and related crops. The project will explore the relationship between meristem size and plant architecture diversity in five pepper species. Existing diversity for plant architecture in pepper presents an opportunity to study how differences in meristem size influence shoot and flower production. The Fellow will use quantitative genetics to define genetic factors controlling meristem size and branching. Gene expression will also be examined with in situ hybridization and transcriptome profiling of developing meristems. Finally, candidate genes identified through quantitative and genomic analyses will be targeted by genome editing techniques in an effort to modulate and improve shoot and flower production. Project outcomes and educational resources will be available at http://lippmannsf.labsites.cshl.edu/outreach/ with large sequence datasets available from the Sol Genomics Network at http://www.solgenomics.net.