FUNCTIONAL GENOMICS OF PLANT STRESS TOLERANCE

¹ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078 USA

² Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK74078 USA

³ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078 USA

⁴ Department of Horticulture, Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN 47907 USA

⁵ Department of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA

⁶ Departments of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA

Abiotic stress accounts for more crop productivity losses than any other factor. Yet our ability to improve plant stress tolerance remains limited due to our lack of understanding of the inherent complexity of stress signaling and adaptation processes. Technical advances in high-throughput DNA sequencing, DNA microarray analysis, and functional genomics will allow a global understanding of how plants integrate salinity and drought tolerance responses. The University of Arizona, Oklahoma State University, and Purdue University have formed the plant stress genomics consortium to isolate and functionally characterize the core set of stress-related genes that provide the basis for ionic or dehydration stress tolerance in plants. Comparative analysis of a series of halophytic and glycophytic higher plant (Arabidopsis, Mesembryanthemum, and Oryza), and non-plant models (Aspergillus, Dunaliella, Synechocystis, and Saccharomyces) will identify evolutionarily conserved and unique stress defense mechanisms. An overview of the strategies for the functional identification and analysis of genes important for stress signaling and tolerance using random and targeted mutagenesis, complementation and array-based expression screening, and promoter trapping strategies will be presented. In addition, the establishment of an integrated bioinformatics resource center for the collection, analysis, and distribution of materials and data generated by the consortium will be discussed.