Washington, DC
October 28, 2008
Projects will better define plant
responses to changing environments and contribute to
understanding of genetic processes in economically important
plants
The National Science Foundation
(NSF) has made 20 new awards totaling $57.3 million during the
11th year of its Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP).
These awards, which cover two to five years and range from
$350,000 to $6.8 million, support research and tool development
to further knowledge of genome structure and function. They will
leverage sequence and functional genomics resources to increase
understanding of gene function and interactions between genomes
and the environment in economically important crop plants such
as corn, soybean, wheat and rice.
"Plant biologists continue to make significant conceptual and
theoretical advances in our understanding of basic biological
processes using plants," said James Collins, NSF assistant
director for biological sciences. "It is clear that 21st century
biology has become increasingly quantitative and
interdisciplinary. The latest projects funded through the PGRP
reflect this shift and will integrate innovative, cutting edge
research with the training of the next generation of plant
scientists at both research universities and small teaching
colleges and universities."
The new awards, made to 45 institutions in 28 states, include
international groups of scientists from Asia, Australia, Europe
and South America.
First-time recipients of PGRP awards include California State
University-Long Beach, Case Western Reserve University, North
Carolina Central University, University of Minnesota-Duluth,
University of Southern California and Western Illinois
University.
A wealth of genomics tools and sequence resources developed over
the past 11 years of the PGRP continues to enable exciting, new
comparative approaches to uncover gene networks that regulate
plant development and growth in changing environments.
Projects include:
- Research led by the
University of Southern California to study how Medicago
truncatula, a small legume, and associated soil bacteria
co-adapt to high salinity conditions. This project will be
done in collaboration with scientists in Tunisia and France.
- Research led by the
University of Minnesota, Duluth to identify the
molecular mechanisms of nectar synthesis and secretion in
the Brassicaceae, an agriculturally important family of
flowering plants.
- An interdisciplinary
effort led by Pennsylvania State University to define
the regulation of maize shoot growth and development by the
plant hormone auxin.
- A multi-institutional
effort led by the University of California, Davis to
develop genomics resources that will support the physical
mapping of wheat chromosomes; this project will complement
ongoing national and international efforts to sequence the
wheat genome.
- Research led by the
University of Georgia to generate populations of mutant
plants that will advance our understanding of the functions
of agronomically important genes in soybean.
This year's awards were
selected from a pool of outstanding proposals, many of which
leveraged data and other resources previously produced with
PGRP funding. The outstanding quality of these proposals
testifies to the PGRP's success in enabling innovative
research.
The PGRP, which was established in
1998 as part of the coordinated National Plant Genome Initiative
by the Interagency Working Group on Plant Genomes of the
National Science and Technology Council, works to advance the
understanding of the structure and function of genomes of plants
of economic importance.
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 $6.06 billion. NSF funds
reach all 50 states through grants to over 1,900 universities
and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 45,000
competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new
funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in
professional and service contracts yearly. |
|
