| DEDICATION | 第7-8页 |
| 摘要 | 第8-10页 |
| RéSUMé | 第10-13页 |
| ABSTRACT | 第13-14页 |
| Chapter 1 Review of literature | 第18-29页 |
| 1.1 Introduction | 第18-19页 |
| 1.2 The C_3 and C_4 pathways of photosynthetic carbon assimilation | 第19-20页 |
| 1.3 Physiology associated with C_4 metabolism | 第20-22页 |
| 1.4 Functions of C_4 Pathway Enzymes in C_3 Plants | 第22-24页 |
| 1.4.1 Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase (PEPC) | 第22-23页 |
| 1.4.2 Carbonic Anhydrase (CA) | 第23页 |
| 1.4.3 Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate -Malic Enzyme (NADP-ME) | 第23页 |
| 1.4.4 Malate Dehydrogenase (MDH) | 第23-24页 |
| 1.4.5 Pyruvate, Orthophosphate Dikinase (PPDK) | 第24页 |
| 1.5 Engineering of C_4 photosynthesis into C3 crops | 第24-25页 |
| 1.6 Setaria as a model plants for C_4 photosynthesis | 第25-26页 |
| 1.7 Challenges of placing C_4 photosynthesis into C_3 leaves and future prospects | 第26-27页 |
| 1.8 Research objectives and outline of the experimental design | 第27-29页 |
| 1.8.1 Research objectives | 第27-28页 |
| 1.8.2 Flow chart of research process | 第28-29页 |
| Chapter 2 Identification of the homologues of C_4 photosynthetic pathway genes in breadwheat (Triticum aestivum L.) | 第29-37页 |
| 2.1 Introduction | 第29-30页 |
| 2.2 Materials and methods | 第30-32页 |
| 2.2.1 Wheat materials | 第30页 |
| 2.2.2 Identification of homologous copies of the key genes involved in C_4 pathway | 第30-31页 |
| 2.2.3 Cloning and sequence analysis | 第31-32页 |
| 2.3 Results | 第32-36页 |
| 2.3.1 Characterization of the C_4 pathway related genes in bread wheat | 第32-34页 |
| 2.3.2 Phylogenetic analysis | 第34-36页 |
| 2.4 Discussion | 第36-37页 |
| Chapter 3 Expression patterns and enzymatic activities of the C_4 pathway genes inbread wheat(Triticum aestivum L.) under field conditions | 第37-67页 |
| 3.1 Introduction | 第37-38页 |
| 3.2 Materials and methods | 第38-43页 |
| 3.2.1 Plant materials and growth conditions | 第38-39页 |
| 3.2.2 RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis | 第39-40页 |
| 3.2.3 Expression analysis of the genes encoding the C4 photosynthetic enzymes | 第40-42页 |
| 3.2.4 Assays for the activities of C_4 enzymes | 第42-43页 |
| 3.2.5 Phenotypic evaluation | 第43页 |
| 3.2.6 Statistical analysis | 第43页 |
| 3.3 Results | 第43-64页 |
| 3.3.1 Expression patterns of C_4-like genes in flag leaves of bread wheat | 第43-46页 |
| 3.3.2 Clustering of the wheat genotypes on the expression levels of C_4-like genes | 第46-50页 |
| 3.3.3 Activities of the C_4 pathway enzymes in flag leaves of bread wheat | 第50-54页 |
| 3.3.4 Correlation between C_4 enzyme activities and gene expressions | 第54-55页 |
| 3.3.5 Expression of C_4-like genes and Photosynthesis, BMPP and GYPP | 第55-63页 |
| 3.3.6 Correlation between C_4 enzyme activities with BMPP and GYPP | 第63-64页 |
| 3.4 Discussion | 第64-66页 |
| 3.5 Conclusion | 第66-67页 |
| Chapter 4 Optimal reference genes and expression of C_4 photosynthetic genes in foxtailmillet (Setaria italica L.) | 第67-82页 |
| 4.1 Introduction | 第67-68页 |
| 4.2 Materials and methods | 第68-71页 |
| 4.2.1 Plant materials and growth conditions | 第68页 |
| 4.2.2 Sequence identification and primer design | 第68-70页 |
| 4.2.3 RNA isolation and cDNA synthesis | 第70页 |
| 4.2.4 Quantitative real-time PCR analysis | 第70页 |
| 4.2.5 Stability analysis of gene expression for selecting reference genes | 第70-71页 |
| 4.2.6 Analysis on the promoter sequences of C_4 genes in foxtail millet and wheat | 第71页 |
| 4.3 Results | 第71-80页 |
| 4.3.1 Expressions of candidate reference genes | 第71-74页 |
| 4.3.2 Expression patterns of the C_4 pathway genes in different organs of foxtail millet | 第74-77页 |
| 4.3.3 In silico analysis on the promoters of C_4 genes in foxtail millet and bread wheat | 第77-80页 |
| 4.4 Discussion | 第80-81页 |
| 4.5 Conclusion | 第81-82页 |
| Chapter 5 General conclusions and recommendations | 第82-84页 |
| 5.1 Characterization and expression patterns of the C_4 photosynthetic pathway genes inbread wheat | 第82页 |
| 5.2 Activities of the C_4 photosynthetic pathway enzymes in Bread Wheat | 第82-83页 |
| 5.3 Optimal reference genes and expression of C_4 photosynthetic genes in foxtail millet | 第83-84页 |
| References | 第84-97页 |
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | 第97-98页 |
| CURRICULUM VITAE | 第98-99页 |
