Excellence in Research: Collaborative Research: Dissection of the Molecular Mechanisms Controlling Lipid Droplet Abundance in Plants

This project will use genomic tools to better understand the molecular mechanisms that govern the biosynthesis of plant oils in the oilseed and bioenergy crops. The team will use genetics, molecular biology, and biochemistry to understand the role of specific proteins in storing nutritious fatty acids in seeds of food crop plants. This information will be useful for plant breeding to enhance crops to provide higher nutritional components that will increase agricultural output as a crucial component in addressing the world’s food, nutrition, chemicals, bioenergy, and nutraceuticals needs. This research program will also expand opportunities for WVSU undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers to conduct experiments in biotechnology and molecular biology, analyze data, and share their findings through publications and presentations. An inquiry-based plant biotechnology lab at WVSU will foster students’ understanding of the scientific process through hands-on learning. Students will also visit research labs at other institutions in order to learn about mutant screening, genetic crossing, genome sequencing, metabolomics, and transcriptome analysis, as well as explore post-graduate educational and career paths. In order to optimize plant oil capacity and nutritive value, researchers have sought to understand the complex networks of genes and encoded proteins that underlie the biochemical and physiological basis of oil metabolism and the accumulation of lipid droplets (LDs) enriched in triacylglycerols (TAGs) and sterol esters (SEs). To date, only a small number of genes have been analyzed, with limited benefit to agronomic and bioenergy innovation. To accelerate the pace of innovation, WVSU researchers will lead project with researchers from Stony Brook University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Michigan State University, and Kansas State University, to analyze the Sterol Ester Overaccumulation1 (SEO1) protein, which plays a significant role in plant metabolism. This team will also study the regulation of oil synthesis in Arabidopsis. The researchers will use forward and reverse genetics, and molecular biological and biochemical methods, including transgenesis, mutant screens, next-generation sequencing, and metabolic engineering, in order to investigate how LDs accumulate and are enhanced in triacylglycerols TAGs and SEs. Understanding how the SEO1 protein regulates carbon flux in plant physiology and investigating the connection between SEO1 and storage compound biosynthesis in LDs will provide insight into SEO1's role in storage compound accumulation and its interactions with other genes and proteins. The specific aims of the project are to: 1) Identify and study plant mutants with changes in LD levels; 2) Explore the function of the SEO1 protein in TAG and SE metabolism, and; 3) Investigate how the accumulation of TAGs and SEs affects plant growth and physiology. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.