This three-year $1.28 million project grant from the National Science Foundation's Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) supports research at Washington State University to develop a quantitative understanding of lipid metabolic network structure, fluxes, and sub-cellular spatial organization in plant seeds. The goal is to elucidate how plants balance oil accumulation with membrane lipid synthesis to optimize seed oil production without affecting membrane properties.
The project will leverage a multi-disciplinary team's expertise using genetic mutants, overexpression lines, protein localization, dynamic interactions, in vivo isotopic labeling, and mathematical modeling to map lipid fluxes and develop dynamic models of network function. This work aims to provide a paradigm shift beyond static network descriptions previously used for bioengineering. It will also train postdoctoral researchers and students. Subawards totaling $XXX,XXX will support collaborations with the University of Missouri, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and USDA-ARS to generate plant lines and conduct proteomic and protein interaction studies. Results may enable improved engineering strategies to meet future plant oil needs.
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