Enhance Economic Opportunities for Agricultural Producers
Functional Genomics of Maize Chromatin Proteins

Impact Nugget
Researchers at The University of Arizona and other collaborating universities have identified more than 300 chromatin-related genes in maize that are responsible for certain types of gene expression; information about each gene has been made available to the public in a Web-based database that is readily accessible and has the potential to be utilized by thousands of researchers.

Issue
Gene regulation is critical to plant growth and development. One important regulator of gene expression is chromatin structure, which refers to the manner in which the DNA is packaged in the nucleus of the cell. Little is known about the genes responsible for creating and maintaining chromatin structure in maize, or how alterations to this structure can alter gene expression and other biological phenomena.

What has been done?
In 2005 plant scientists from the UA and five other universities won a 4-year, multi-million dollar grant from the NSF to identify and study the function of all chromatin related proteins in corn, the nation’s most important economic crop. The scientists are developing and characterizing mutants which will allow them to analyze features of plants that lack the proteins involved in chromatin structure and modification. The mutants are then studied to determine how chromatin structure, gene expression, and important genetically regulated processes are altered. This project is expected to provide researchers with a deeper understanding of an important crop plant, and also to increase the understanding of chromatin level regulation of gene expression, which is a critical component of disease, growth, development, and silencing of introduced transgenes in plants, humans and other organisms.

Impact
In collaboration with scientists at other universities, researchers at the University of Arizona are generating 300 mutant lines for scientists around the world to use in their own research. Many of these lines are already available and in use in labs around the world. Over 300 chromatin related genes have been identified in maize, and information about each gene has been made available to the public in a Web-based database. This information is readily accessible and has the potential to be utilized by thousands of researchers.

Funding
National Science Foundation (NSF)

Contact
Vicki Chandler, Professor
Department of Plant Sciences
The University of Arizona
P.O. Box 210036
Tucson, AZ 85721-0036
Tel. (520) 626-8725, FAX (520) 621-7186
Email: chandler@ag.arizona.edu

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