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** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** PLANT GENETIC ENGINEERING IS A SET OF TECHNOLOGIES THAT, ALONG WITH CONVENTIONAL PLANT BREEDING PRACTICES, HAS THE POTENTIAL TO MAKE MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO CROP PRODUCTIVITY AND RESILIENCE TO MOUNTING DISEASE AND CLIMATE-RELATED PRESSURES. HOWEVER, IN MANY ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT CROP SPECIES AND INDIVIDUAL LINES, GENETIC ENGINEERING IS CURRENTLY EITHER INFEASIBLE OR ONLY MARGINALLY PRODUCTIVE, REQUIRING A LARGE AMOUNT OF TIME, LABOR, AND RESOURCES TO ACHIEVE. RESEARCH DIRECTED TOWARD IMPROVING ENGINEERING PROCESSES HAS FOCUSED ON APPROACHES SUCH AS OPTIMIZING THE NUTRIENT AND HORMONE COMPOSITION OF TISSUE CULTURE MEDIA AND DELIVERING GENES THAT BOOST THE FORMATION OF NEW PLANTLETS AFTER GENE TRANSMISSION. SO FAR, THERE HAS BEEN RELATIVELY LITTLE FOCUS ON ANOTHER POTENTIAL AVENUE TO IMPROVEMENT--GENETICALLY ENHANCING THE ORGANISMS MOST COMMONLY USED AS A GENE DELIVERY VEHICLE IN PLANT GENETIC ENGINEERING TO IMPROVE THEIR CAPACITY FOR TRANSMITTING GENETIC MATERIAL.MICROBES IN THE AGROBACTERIUM SPECIES COMPLEX ARE KNOWN TO CAUSE DISEASE SYMPTOMS IN A WIDE RANGE OF PLANTS BY DELIVERING A GENETIC SEQUENCE INTO A HOST PLANT'S CELLS, WHICH IS THEN INCORPORATED INTO ITS GENOME. THIS UNIQUE CAPABILITY MAKES AGROBACTERIUM A NATURAL GENETIC ENGINEER AND THUS THIS NATURALLY OCCURRING PROCESS HAS BEEN COOPTED BY SCIENTISTS AND CROP DEVELOPERS TO DELIVER GENETIC SEQUENCES OF CHOICE INTO CROP PLANT GENOMES FOR THE PURPOSE OF AFFECTING A DESIRED TRAIT (I.E., GENETIC ENGINEERING). TO EMPLOY AN AGROBACTERIUM STRAIN FOR THIS END, A (TYPICALLY) DISEASE-CAUSING STRAIN REFERRED TO AS A WILD-TYPE STRAIN MUST FIRST BE ENGINEERED TO REMOVE THE GENETIC SEQUENCE THAT IT TRANSFERS INTO HOST PLANTS, WHILE LEAVING THE CELLULAR MACHINERY NECESSARY FOR TRANSFERRING GENE SEQUENCES INTACT. THIS OPERATION, REFERRED TO AS DISARMAMENT, RESULTS IN AN AGROBACTERIUM STRAIN THAT CAN NO LONGER GENERATE DISEASE SYMPTOMS IN PLANTS, BUT CAN INSTEAD BE USED AS A VEHICLE TO DELIVER GENETIC MATERIAL SUPPLIED BY THE RESEARCHER.TODAY, ONLY A HANDFUL OF DISARMED AGROBACTERIUM STRAINS, MOST OF WHICH WERE ORIGINALLY DERIVED FROM THEIR WILD-TYPE PROGENITOR STRAINS IN THE LATE 1980S OR EARLY 90S, ARE WIDELY AVAILABLE FOR PLANT RESEARCHERS TO USE IN DEVELOPING GENETIC ENGINEERING PROCESSES FOR PLANT LINES. MANY ADVANCES HAVE BEEN MADE IN BIOTECHNOLOGY SINCE THESE FEW STRAINS WERE INITIALLY DISARMED. NEWLY DEVELOPED TOOLS FOR GENETIC MANIPULATIONS OF BACTERIA CAN ENABLE THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF ADDITIONAL DISARMED STRAINS, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE GENETIC DIVERSITY WITHIN WILD-TYPE AGROBACTERIUM (SOME OF WHICH SEEM TO BE SPECIALIZED TO PARTICULAR PLANT HOSTS) TO FURTHER IMPROVE GENETIC ENGINEERING CAPABILITIES IN PLANTS WHICH ARE CURRENTLY DIFFICULT TO MODIFY. ADDITIONALLY, A FEW TOOLS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED WHICH CAN DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF TRANSFERRING A GENE SEQUENCE OF INTEREST FROM AGROBACTERIUM TO TARGET PLANT TISSUES. HOWEVER, INSTALLING THESE SEQUENCES INTO AGROBACTERIUM CELLS, E,SPECIALLY IN COMBINATION WITH EACH OTHER CAN BE QUITE DIFFICULT OR IMPOSSIBLE, AT LEAST IN THEIR CURRENT FORM.THE AIM OF THIS PROJECT IS TO ENGINEER THE ENGINEER BY GENERATING A TOOLKIT FOR MAKING A VARIETY OF MODIFICATIONS TO VARIOUS AGROBACTERIUM STRAINS, BOTH THOSE COMMONLY USED IN PLANT GENETIC ENGINEERING PROCESSES AS WELL AS NOVEL WILD-TYPE ONES, ALL DIRECTED TOWARD THE GOAL OF IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY AND APPLICABILITY OF PLANT GENETIC ENGINEERING PROCESSES. WE WILL ALSO DESIGN A NEW SYSTEM FOR RAPIDLY AND EFFICIENTLY INSTALLING EXISTING GENETIC TOOLS THAT HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO BOOST THE RATE OF GENE DELIVERY FROM AGROBACTERIUM TO PLANTS INTO NEW STRAINS. AFTER USING THESE NEW RESOURCES TO PRODUCE SEVERAL ENHANCED STRAINS AS A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT, WE WILL PUT THEM TO THE TEST BY USING THEM IN GENETIC ENGINEERING PROCESSES FOR DIFFICULT PLANT SPECIES (E.G., HOPS, TREES), EVALUATING THEIR GENE DELIVERY CAPACITIES AGAINST THOSE OF THE MORE CONVENTIONAL STRAINS REGULARLY USED IN THESE PROTOCOLS. THE GENETIC TOOLS AND RESOURCES RESULTING FROM THIS PROJECT WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR OTHER RESEARCHERS AND CROP DEVELOPERS TO USE FOR FOLLOWING THE SAME STRATEGY, WHICH IDEALLY WILL HELP TO DEVELOP OR IMPROVE GENETIC ENGINEERING PROCESSES IN MANY ADDITIONAL CROPS.

$225,000FY2024National Institute of Food and AgricultureUSDA

Oregon State University, Corvallis OR

Investigators

View source on USAspending →
** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** PLANT GENETIC ENGINEERING IS A SET OF TECHNOLOGIES THAT, ALONG WITH CONVENTIONAL PLANT BREEDING PRACTICES, HAS THE POTENTIAL TO MAKE MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO CROP PRODUCTIVITY AND RESILIENCE TO MOUNTING DISEASE AND CLIMATE-RELATED PRESSURES. HOWEVER, IN MANY ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT CROP SPECIES AND INDIVIDUAL LINES, GENETIC ENGINEERING IS CURRENTLY EITHER INFEASIBLE OR ONLY MARGINALLY PRODUCTIVE, REQUIRING A LARGE AMOUNT OF TIME, LABOR, AND RESOURCES TO ACHIEVE. RESEARCH DIRECTED TOWARD IMPROVING ENGINEERING PROCESSES HAS FOCUSED ON APPROACHES SUCH AS OPTIMIZING THE NUTRIENT AND HORMONE COMPOSITION OF TISSUE CULTURE MEDIA AND DELIVERING GENES THAT BOOST THE FORMATION OF NEW PLANTLETS AFTER GENE TRANSMISSION. SO FAR, THERE HAS BEEN RELATIVELY LITTLE FOCUS ON ANOTHER POTENTIAL AVENUE TO IMPROVEMENT--GENETICALLY ENHANCING THE ORGANISMS MOST COMMONLY USED AS A GENE DELIVERY VEHICLE IN PLANT GENETIC ENGINEERING TO IMPROVE THEIR CAPACITY FOR TRANSMITTING GENETIC MATERIAL.MICROBES IN THE AGROBACTERIUM SPECIES COMPLEX ARE KNOWN TO CAUSE DISEASE SYMPTOMS IN A WIDE RANGE OF PLANTS BY DELIVERING A GENETIC SEQUENCE INTO A HOST PLANT'S CELLS, WHICH IS THEN INCORPORATED INTO ITS GENOME. THIS UNIQUE CAPABILITY MAKES AGROBACTERIUM A NATURAL GENETIC ENGINEER AND THUS THIS NATURALLY OCCURRING PROCESS HAS BEEN COOPTED BY SCIENTISTS AND CROP DEVELOPERS TO DELIVER GENETIC SEQUENCES OF CHOICE INTO CROP PLANT GENOMES FOR THE PURPOSE OF AFFECTING A DESIRED TRAIT (I.E., GENETIC ENGINEERING). TO EMPLOY AN AGROBACTERIUM STRAIN FOR THIS END, A (TYPICALLY) DISEASE-CAUSING STRAIN REFERRED TO AS A WILD-TYPE STRAIN MUST FIRST BE ENGINEERED TO REMOVE THE GENETIC SEQUENCE THAT IT TRANSFERS INTO HOST PLANTS, WHILE LEAVING THE CELLULAR MACHINERY NECESSARY FOR TRANSFERRING GENE SEQUENCES INTACT. THIS OPERATION, REFERRED TO AS DISARMAMENT, RESULTS IN AN AGROBACTERIUM STRAIN THAT CAN NO LONGER GENERATE DISEASE SYMPTOMS IN PLANTS, BUT CAN INSTEAD BE USED AS A VEHICLE TO DELIVER GENETIC MATERIAL SUPPLIED BY THE RESEARCHER.TODAY, ONLY A HANDFUL OF DISARMED AGROBACTERIUM STRAINS, MOST OF WHICH WERE ORIGINALLY DERIVED FROM THEIR WILD-TYPE PROGENITOR STRAINS IN THE LATE 1980S OR EARLY 90S, ARE WIDELY AVAILABLE FOR PLANT RESEARCHERS TO USE IN DEVELOPING GENETIC ENGINEERING PROCESSES FOR PLANT LINES. MANY ADVANCES HAVE BEEN MADE IN BIOTECHNOLOGY SINCE THESE FEW STRAINS WERE INITIALLY DISARMED. NEWLY DEVELOPED TOOLS FOR GENETIC MANIPULATIONS OF BACTERIA CAN ENABLE THE RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF ADDITIONAL DISARMED STRAINS, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE GENETIC DIVERSITY WITHIN WILD-TYPE AGROBACTERIUM (SOME OF WHICH SEEM TO BE SPECIALIZED TO PARTICULAR PLANT HOSTS) TO FURTHER IMPROVE GENETIC ENGINEERING CAPABILITIES IN PLANTS WHICH ARE CURRENTLY DIFFICULT TO MODIFY. ADDITIONALLY, A FEW TOOLS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED WHICH CAN DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF TRANSFERRING A GENE SEQUENCE OF INTEREST FROM AGROBACTERIUM TO TARGET PLANT TISSUES. HOWEVER, INSTALLING THESE SEQUENCES INTO AGROBACTERIUM CELLS, E,SPECIALLY IN COMBINATION WITH EACH OTHER CAN BE QUITE DIFFICULT OR IMPOSSIBLE, AT LEAST IN THEIR CURRENT FORM.THE AIM OF THIS PROJECT IS TO ENGINEER THE ENGINEER BY GENERATING A TOOLKIT FOR MAKING A VARIETY OF MODIFICATIONS TO VARIOUS AGROBACTERIUM STRAINS, BOTH THOSE COMMONLY USED IN PLANT GENETIC ENGINEERING PROCESSES AS WELL AS NOVEL WILD-TYPE ONES, ALL DIRECTED TOWARD THE GOAL OF IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY AND APPLICABILITY OF PLANT GENETIC ENGINEERING PROCESSES. WE WILL ALSO DESIGN A NEW SYSTEM FOR RAPIDLY AND EFFICIENTLY INSTALLING EXISTING GENETIC TOOLS THAT HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO BOOST THE RATE OF GENE DELIVERY FROM AGROBACTERIUM TO PLANTS INTO NEW STRAINS. AFTER USING THESE NEW RESOURCES TO PRODUCE SEVERAL ENHANCED STRAINS AS A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT, WE WILL PUT THEM TO THE TEST BY USING THEM IN GENETIC ENGINEERING PROCESSES FOR DIFFICULT PLANT SPECIES (E.G., HOPS, TREES), EVALUATING THEIR GENE DELIVERY CAPACITIES AGAINST THOSE OF THE MORE CONVENTIONAL STRAINS REGULARLY USED IN THESE PROTOCOLS. THE GENETIC TOOLS AND RESOURCES RESULTING FROM THIS PROJECT WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR OTHER RESEARCHERS AND CROP DEVELOPERS TO USE FOR FOLLOWING THE SAME STRATEGY, WHICH IDEALLY WILL HELP TO DEVELOP OR IMPROVE GENETIC ENGINEERING PROCESSES IN MANY ADDITIONAL CROPS. · GrantIndex