Arlington, Virginia
October 3, 2003
Building on
advances in genetics technology and integrating a burgeoning
collection of biological data, the
National Science Foundation today announced 31 new grants in
plant genome research, involving 48 different institutions and
totaling about $100 million.
NSF is an
independent federal agency that supports fundamental research
and education across all fields of science and engineering, with
an annual budget that exceeds $5 billion. Its plant genome
program examines the structure and function of plant genes,
particularly those important to agriculture, environmental
concerns, energy and health.
Individually, the two- to five-year projects, awarded to
universities across the country, will receive funding
ranging from $600,000 to nearly $11 million. Some will focus on
the impact of specific genes in a single species. Others will
compare the complete genetic sequences of related plants. (A
complete list of the awards is available at this web site:
http://nsf.gov/bio/pubs/awards/genome03.htm .)
For
example, researchers at
Yale University
will use a new, high-throughput method call laser capture
microdissection (LCM) to create a "cellular atlas" that will
show how individual genes are expressed in rice. A University of
Georgia project will use LCM on maize plant cells to trace the
gene expression that gives rise to leaves.
Meanwhile,
at the University of Nevada, Reno, researchers will use a
genomics approach to determine how plants produce natural
rubber; and, at the University of Missouri, researchers will use
a "proteomics" approach to study how caster bean, soybean and
canola plants produce oil.
(Genomics
is the study of an organism's entire set of genes, which include
the instructions for making its complement of proteins.
Proteomics focuses on an organism's inventory of proteins, and
how proteins interact to build an organism and allow it to
function.)
A project
led by Texas A&M University will use the sorghum genome map to
tease out the networks of genes that control drought tolerance.
A grass that originated in Africa, sorghum is now a key food
source worldwide. It has evolved thick waxy leaves and a deep
root system that allow it to grow in hot dry climates. Its
genome sequence is also similar to those of other important
cereals, such as rice, corn and wheat.
Two other
projects, led by the
University of
Illinois
and Clemson University, will develop genomic resources for the
plant family Rosaceae,
which includes apples, pears, peaches, apricots, plums,
cherries, almonds, strawberries and raspberries.
According
to Mary Clutter, Assistant Director of NSF's
Directorate for Biological Sciences, this year's awards take
advantage of the fruits of earlier genome projects to extend
existing areas of research and to break entirely new ground.
"In key
ways, these projects will expand what we know about the biology
of the plant kingdom, including plants that have a major impact
upon the lives of people around the world," Clutter said. "In a
relatively short time, genomics has created massive amounts of
data and innovative, adaptable tools for biological research.
These now make it possible for scientists, wherever they are, to
approach important, challenging questions in new ways."
Among the
new projects are six new plant genome "virtual centers,"
flexible collaborations of investigators at various institutions
and of various expertise to focus on a particular research goal.
One, for example, will develop a scientific-community resource
for studying genome-wide gene expression in maize.
According
to Jane Silverthorne, who directs NSF's
Plant Genome Research Program, "With these centers, there
are no geographical or disciplinary boundaries. They foster
interactions with other research efforts, and, as with all of
the plant genome projects, they freely share the outcomes of
their studies."
Since the
Plant Genome Research Program began in 1998, NSF has committed
about $375 million to the effort (including this year's new
awards.) Currently the program supports 120 projects.
Related NSF web sites:
FY 2003
Awards, NSF Plant Genome Research Program:
http://nsf.gov/bio/pubs/awards/genome03.htm
Previous
news releases on plant genomes:
http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/03/pr03114_priors.htm
NSF
Directorate for Biological Sciences Plant Genome Project site:
http://www.nsf.gov/bio/dbi/dbi_pgr.htm
Other
pertinent background:
Five-year (2003-2008) plan for the National Plant Genome
Initiative (NPGI), issued by the National Science and Technology
Council:
http://www.ostp.gov/NSTC/html/npgi2003/index.htm
|
Fiscal Year 2003 Awards
National Science Foundation
Plant Genome Research Program
Collaborative Research on Functional Genomics |
|
Principal Investigator |
Institution |
Title |
Total Award ($) |
Total Duration (yrs) |
|
Bass, Henry
0321639 |
Florida
State University |
Cytogenic Map of Maize |
$1,548,982 |
4 |
|
Brendel, Volker
0321600 |
Iowa
State University |
Plant
GDB - Plant Genome Database and Analysis Tools |
$978, 683 |
2 |
|
Buell, C. Robin
0321538 |
The
Institute for Genomic Research |
An
Annotation Resource for the Rice Genome |
$4,876,855 |
4 |
|
Burke, John
0332411 |
Vanderbilt University |
YIA:
Identifying the Targets of Selection During Sunflower
Domestication |
$1,111,827 |
5 |
|
Chandler, Vicki
0321663 |
University of Arizona
The
Institute for Genomic Resources (sub)*
University of Wisconsin (sub)* |
Microarray Resources for Maize Research |
$3,658,458 |
3 |
|
Close, Timothy
0321756 |
University of California, Riverside
|
Coupling
Expressed Sequences and Bacterial Artificial Chromosome
Resources to Access the Barley Genome |
$2,433,127 |
4 |
|
Doebley, John
0321467 |
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Cornell
University (sub)*
University of California, Irvine (sub)*
North
Carolina State University (sub)* |
Molecular and Functional Diversity in the Maize Genome |
$10,261,784 |
5 |
|
Dooner, Hugo
0320683 |
Rutgers
University
University of California, Irvine (sub)* |
A
Comparative Genomics Investigation of Unprecedented
Haplotype Variability in Maize |
$973,067 |
4 |
|
Dvorak, Jan
0321757 |
University of California, Davis
|
Haplotype Polymorphism in the Polyploid Wheats and their
Diploid Ancestors |
$5,615,748 |
3 |
|
Freeling, Michael
0321726 |
University of California, Berkeley
|
Epigenetic Regulation of the Mutator System of
Transposons |
$986,783 |
5 |
|
Henikoff, Steven
0321510 |
Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
University of Washington (sub)*
Purdue
University (sub)* |
Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes (TILLING) for
Plant Functional Genomics |
$2,570, 388 |
3 |
|
Innes, Roger
0321664 |
Indiana
University, Bloomington (sub)*
University of Minnesota (sub)*
Cornell
University (sub)*
Virginia
Tech (sub)*
Oklahoma
University (sub)* |
Comparative Analysis of Legume Genome Evolution |
$2,581,746 |
3 |
|
Kianian, Shahryar
0321462 |
North
Dakota State University
Oregon
State University (sub)*
University of Arizona (sub)*
Kansas
State University (sub)*
University of California, Davis (sub)*
|
Development of Diploid Wheat (Triticum Monococcum)
Deletion Lines for Reverse Genetics |
$1,808,502 |
2 |
|
Klein, Patricia
0321578 |
Texas
A&M University
|
Map-Based Dissection of Sorghum Drought Tolerance Gene
Networks |
$1,964,299 |
4 |
|
Korban, Schuyler
0321701 |
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Cornell
University (sub)*
Purdue
University (sub)* |
Apple
Functional Genomics |
$1,659,708 |
2 |
|
Main, Doreen
0320544 |
Clemson
University
|
The
Prunus Genome Database: A Model for Rosaceae |
$646,677 |
3 |
|
McCombie, Richard
0321683 |
Cold
Spring Harbor Laboratory
University of Arizona (sub)* |
Finishing the Rice Genome |
$4,202,799 |
3 |
|
Meyers, Blake
0321437 |
University of Delaware
Ohio
State University (sub)* |
Deep
Transcription Profiling of Rice Using Signature
Sequencing |
$4,195,915 |
4 |
|
Nelson, Timothy
0325821 |
Yale
University |
Analysis
of Rice Cellular Expression Profiles |
$4,492,329 |
4 |
|
Purugganan, Michael
0319553 |
North
Carolina State University
Cornell
University (sub)* |
Evolutionary Genomics of Rice |
$2,573,939 |
3 |
|
Ronald, Pamela
0313887 |
University of California, Davis
The
Institute for Genomic Research (sub)*
Iowa
State University (sub)* |
A Rice
Oligonucleotide Array |
$4,367,659 |
3 |
|
Scanlon, Michael
0321595 |
University of Georgia, Athens
Truman
State University (sub)*
Iowa
State University (sub)*
Cold
Spring Harbor Laboratory (sub)* |
Functional Analyses of Genes Involved in Meristem
Organization and Leaf Initiation |
$3,939,129 |
4 |
|
Schnable, Patrick
0321711 |
Iowa
State University
Truman
State University (sub)* |
High-Density Genetic Map of Maize Transcripts |
$3,691,269 |
3 |
|
Sheridan, William
0321565 |
University of North Dakota |
Global
Analysis of the Maize Genome: Relating Genes and DNA
Sequence to Chromosome Regions |
$300,000 |
3 |
|
Shintani, David
0321690 |
University of Nevada, Reno
|
The
Functional Identification of Plant Rubber Biosynthetic
Genes |
$1,992,203 |
4 |
|
Soderlund, Carol
0321724 |
University of Arizona
University of Georgia (sub)*
Purdue
University (sub)* |
Techniques for Efficient Finishing and Physical Linkage
of Gene Enriched Shotgun Sequences |
$1,414,729 |
2 |
|
Stein, Lincoln
0321666 |
Cold
Spring Harbor Labs
Cornell
University (sub)*
University of Missouri (sub)*
Carnegie
Institution of Washington (sub)* |
The
Plant Ontology Consortium |
$1,672,411 |
3 |
|
Thelen, Jay
0332418 |
University of Missouri, Columbia |
YIA:
Proteomics of Seed-Filling in Oil Seeds |
$1,224,667 |
5 |
|
Ware, Doreen
0333074 |
Cold
Spring Harbor Laboratory |
YIA:
Genomics of Rice, Sorghum and Maize |
$1,295,238 |
5 |
|
Wing, Rod
0321678 |
University of Arizona
Cold
Spring Harbor Laboratory (sub)*
Purdue
University (sub)* |
Oryza
Map Alignment Project |
$9,743,546 |
4 |
|
Young, Nevin
0321460 |
University of Minnesota
University of Oklahoma (sub)*
The
Institute for Genomic Research (sub)*
|
Sequencing the Gene Space of the Model Legume,
Medicago Truncatula |
$10,886,431 |
3 |
|
The
National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal
agency that supports fundamental research and education across
all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of
nearly $5.3 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through
grants to nearly 2,000 universities and institutions. Each year,
NSF receives about 30,000 competitive requests for funding, and
makes about 10,000 new funding awards. The NSF also awards over
$200 million in professional and service contracts yearly.
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