NSF Award
1354603
The unPAK project (undergraduates Phenotyping Arabidopsis Knockouts) uses the plant Arabidopsis thaliana to examine how and when differences in DNA sequences lead to differences in traits related to survival, growth, and reproduction. It will detect effects, if any, of mutation in a comprehensive collection of mutants generated by the SALK Institute, and will then compile results in a comprehensive database. To examine the interaction of genetic and environmental effects, unPAK's experiments are replicated within and across multiple growth facilities and labs, and a subset of experiments deliberately manipulate soil factors, moisture, and temperature to see how these important ecological factors interact with genetics. <br/> unPAK will survey enough mutant lines to reach coverage of a third of the A. thaliana genome (approximately 9,000 genes). All data are uploaded into a public database at arabidopsisunpak.org, and the unPAK project links its database of observed traits to existing genomic databases. Evidence produced by unPAK will enable testing central hypotheses about the relationship between genomic features and important plant characteristics. For example, the data can be used to test whether the effects of mutation are predicted by gene attributes such as molecular signatures of selection in the past, gene function, gene family size, or by patterns of variability in natural populations.<br/> unPAK is centered around participation of undergraduate researchers in the lab and the classroom, educating and training undergraduates integratively in genetics, ecology, evolution, and bioinformatics. The network extends across diverse post-secondary institutions, with over 100 undergraduate apprentices participating across 13 laboratories in 3 years. Greater than 20 course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) will be supported by the program, reaching over 600 students. Any discoveries about the influence of particular genes on fruit production, survival, or life history will have significant broader impacts in potential application to crop species.<br/> As a final part of the project the unPAK research network itself is being studied. Using mixed-methods approaches from the social sciences, researchers are documenting interactions among network participants to analyze changes in network structure over time, and to investigate factors that influence student participation and outcomes, including students? accrual of human, cultural, and social capital.
