PURSLANE DRM2-MEDIATED EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND STARCH ACCUMULATION: MECHANISMS AND ITS PATHWAY TO CROP PRODUCTION

The long term goal is to enhance US capacity to produce more food, feed and fibers by exploring genetic resources that are underutilized. To achieve this goal, we propose here to test the potential of PoDRM2 from Purslane, a wild species, in improving crop starch accumulation and photosynthetic efficiency, and to elucidate mechanisms of this PoDRM2-mediated epigenetic regulation of starch accumulation and photosynthetic efficiency. There are three (3) specific research objectives for the current proposal. Objective 1: Translating PoDRM2-mediated epigenetic control of biomass and starch accumulation observed in Arabidopsis into maize and soybean, and their physiological characterization; Objective 2: Dissecting molecular function of PoDRM2 through integrated transcriptome and DNA methylation analysis; and Objective 3: Functional characterization of clfB domain on PoDRM2 protein and identification of its physical interacting partners in Arabidopsis.