NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Role of Transposable Elements and DNA Methylation on Immunity Gene Regulation and Diversification in Maize and Model Setaria viridis

Read, Andrew C, Saint Paul MN

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Plant Genome Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2021. 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 Andrew Read is “The role of transposable elements and DNA methylation on immunity gene regulation and diversification in maize and the model monocot Setaria viridis.” The host institution for the fellowship is the University of Minnesota and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Nathan Springer. Although plants are able to fend off many disease-causing organisms, when a pathogen successfully infects a plant the results can be devastating. Aggressive pathogens can result in loss of tree species in forests and crop loss in agricultural systems. This project will improve our understanding of how individual plants sense and respond to pathogens. Additionally, the research will examine the genetic features that allow plant populations to rapidly evolve diverse sets of immunity genes. Unlike much prior work in this field, this project will focus on plant immunity in the grasses, a group of plants that includes many of our most important staple crops such as rice, corn, and wheat. Altogether, this research will empower the breeding and development of improved disease resistance in these important crops. Each of the three research objectives generates a resource for the broader plant science community. Over the course of the project, the Fellow will receive technical and leadership skills from a group of interdisciplinary scientists and will in turn mentor several undergraduates during meaningful research experiences. Further, the Fellow will engage in community outreach via Market Science, a program led by post-docs and graduate students to provide family-friendly science education. Plants lack an adaptive immune system and, instead, encode a diverse suite of rapidly evolving immunity genes. It is becoming increasingly clear that transposable elements (TEs) and DNA methylation influence the evolution and expression of these immunity genes. Research on the model dicot Arabidopsis thaliana has been foundational in our understanding of TEs, DNA methylation, and immunity gene biology, however many of our most important crop plants are monocot grasses, a group that diverged from dicots over 125 million years ago. This project will combine a descriptive study of TE, DNA methylation, and immunity gene associations in a diverse maize population with mechanistic testing of these associations using CRISPR/Cas gene knockouts and transgenic stress-reporter lines of the model monocot Setaria viridis. These data and tools will enable a better understanding of monocot responses to biotic stress and inform the development and deployment of disease resistant cultivars. Results of research will be shared on pre-print servers when submitted to open-access scientific journals. Plasmids generated over the course of the project will be deposited with Addgene and transgenic and edited plants will be made available. Keywords: plant immunity, epigenetics, transposable elements, Setaria viridis, disease resistance This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.