Project Grant 0922703

This $1,228,250 National Science Foundation project grant supports research into the B chromosome of maize and its impact on genomic processes. Led by the University of Missouri System, the three-year award aims to advance understanding of properties that have allowed the extra, non-essential B chromosome to persist in maize for millions of years despite providing no benefit to the plant. The interdisciplinary team will conduct genetic and molecular analysis to learn the nature of properties...

This three-year, $1.8 million project grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Integrative Organismal Systems aims to develop rapid transformation and gene editing techniques in maize through the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074). The University of Missouri System will work to establish a system for precisely inserting transgenes and editing genes at predetermined sites in the genome of maize. Researchers will create "landing pads" on five chromosomes of a...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Project Grant, awarded under the Integrative Activities program (CFDA 47.083), will support collaborative research at Kansas State University to identify the genetic basis of plant regeneration, specifically focusing on maize. The $400,000 award will fund the project from September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2027. The primary goal is to better understand the genetic mechanisms controlling plant cell proliferation and growth, which are critical for successful...

This three-year National Science Foundation Project Grant of $439,507 will fund research at the University of California, Berkeley to uncover the genetic basis of specialized vascular function in maize plants. Principal Investigators Leiboff of Oregon State University and Chuck of UC Berkeley will apply single-cell genomics, mutant mapping, and machine learning techniques to identify genes regulating specialized vein development and physiology. Their work aims to improve maize's resilience to...

This $3.2 million project grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Integrative Organismal Systems and Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) supports research at Cornell University to elucidate the meiotic recombination landscape in maize and develop the ability to modify it. The goals are to examine how chromatin, DNA sequence, and genetic diversity impact recombination hotspots; understand how recombination landscapes evolve; and test methods to create artificial hotspots. A...

This Project Grant award of $752,078 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Biomedical Research and Research Training Program (CFDA 93.859) supports research on the epigenomic consequences of the breakage-fusion-bridge (BFB) cycle in maize. The researchers aim to analyze the genomic and epigenomic changes that occur following BFB, including effects on transposable element activation, over multiple generations. The project will establish a new model for investigating...

This $322,020 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Integrative Organismal Systems will support collaborative research at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) to develop improved methods for CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing in maize. The key objectives are to generate maize lines expressing high levels of Cas9 nuclease and to engineer and optimize viral vectors to efficiently deliver guide RNAs for both somatic and heritable gene editing. This...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Integrative Organismal Systems awarded a $277,978 Project Grant under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) to the University of California, Berkeley. The 3-year grant, beginning on Sep 1, 2023, aims to develop new tools and resources to enable more efficient gene editing in maize, the world's most produced crop. Specifically, the project will generate maize lines that constitutively express the Cas9 gene editing enzyme and engineer...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074), provides $910,000 over 4 years to Weill Medical College of Cornell University to conduct research on the regulation of DNA repair mechanisms and transcription at telomeres. The research aims to improve understanding of how genetic information is protected at chromosome ends, which is critical for cell and organism health. The...

The National Science Foundation Division of Integrative Organismal Systems awarded a $206,320 Project Grant to the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center for the period of May 1, 2022 through April 30, 2023. The grant supports collaborative research to develop an artificial chromosome system in Chlamydomonas based on CENH3 tethering under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074). The Biological Sciences program aims to promote progress in the biological sciences and strengthen the nation's...