DELLA, the gene of green revolution. Caracterization and analysis of your function in sucrose accumulation and source-sink regulation in sugarcane

• Grant number: 12/06877-9
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): August 01, 2012
• Effective date (End): September 25, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Plant Genetics
• Principal researcher: Marcelo Menossi Teixeira
• Grantee: Rafael Garcia Tavares
• Home Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 14/15458-5 - Della, the gene of Green Revolution. caracterization and analysis of its function in sucrose accumulation and source-sink regulation in sugarcane, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

The sugarcane (Saccharum spp) is among the most important crops in Brazil, being a field of economic importance in country due to high consume of its sub-products such as alcohol and sugar. The maturation phase in the sugarcane development is especially interesting, since it is extremely relation to harvesting time and, consequently, sucrose accumulation. Besides, spite of sugarcane to be the simplest model of carbon partitioning, there is not much molecular knowledge of its source-sink regulation. Conversely, the use of plant regulators on sugarcane crop, such as gibberellins (GA) and ethylene (ethrel) has been a usual practice for the increase of biomass and sucrose accumulation, earlier maturation and delay flowering. Despite the ethylene and gibberellin play a contrary role in the plant growth, since ethylene inhibits and gibberellin stimulates one, the DELLA protein is the principal candidate for the growth regulation between these two hormones. The DELLA genes are largely known as the genes of the green revolution, since they were responsibly by semi-dwarf character of the cereals, proportioning the increase in the world production during 60s and 70s. Thereby, the present work will characterize the sugarcane DELLA gene and, through transgenic sugarcane, understand the function these hormones in the sucrose accumulation through source-sink regulation in plant.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

TAVARES, RAFAEL GARCIA; LAKSHMANAN, PRAKASH; PEITER, EDGAR; O'CONNELL, ANTHONY; CALDANA, CAMILA; VICENTINI, RENATO; SOARES, JOSE SERGIO; MENOSSI, MARCELO. ScGAI is a key regulator of culm development in sugarcane. Journal of Experimental Botany, v. 69, n. 16, p. 3823-3837, JUL 20 2018. Web of Science Citations: 6.