Project Summary
The overall objective of this NSF project is to identify the low temperature transcriptional networks that plants have evolved to survive freezing. As there is a direct link between freezing and dehydration injury, the results should also provide further insights into the nature of gene modules that impart tolerance to drought and other dehydration stresses.
The specific aims of this project are two-fold. The first is to develop a detailed understanding of the low temperature transcriptional network of Arabidopsis and determine which components contribute to freezing tolerance. The second is to determine whether the low temperature transcriptional networks and gene modules that impart freezing tolerance in Arabidopsis are conserved in plants that cold acclimate (increase in freezing tolerance in response to low non-freezing temperatures) and whether “deficiencies” in this system contribute to the freezing sensitivity of those that do not. We are addressing this aim through comparative genomic analysis of three closely related Solanum species which differ in cold tolerance: S. commersonii, potato and tomato.
Finally, the project includes a summer undergraduate education and research training program designed to provide students an opportunity to learn more about genomic science and to discuss broadly and informally issues that relate to pursuing careers in science.
Investigators
