H2020Индивидуална стипендия2022–2024

END-osperm · Genetic regulation and functional relevance of maize starchy endosperm programmed cell death

„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2022-09-01 → 2024-08-31
Финансиране от ЕС: 166 320 €
Участници: 1
Схема: MSCA-IF

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Генетичният механизъм на програмираната клетъчна смърт при царевицата определя как се развива зърното и как се освобождава място за растежа на зарода. Разбирането на тези процеси помага за подобряване на качеството и добива на зърнените култури при променящия се климат.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

Genetic regulation and functional relevance of maize starchy endosperm programmed cell death

The starchy endosperm in cereals serves as the primary storage tissue in the grain, constituting approximately 60% of the human diet. A comprehensive understanding of endosperm development is essential for enhancing grain quality and yield, under normal and fluctuating environmental conditions. This is a critical challenge given the escalating demands resulting from global population growth and heightened agricultural risks due to climate change. The final phase of starchy endosperm development involves programmed cell death. During this process, the central starchy endosperm undergoes a conservative cell death, preserving the nutrient-filled cell remains. The objective of the project was to unravel the genetic regulation of starchy endosperm cell death in the model species maize. Our findings revealed that starchy endosperm cell death also encompasses another type of cell death, leading to the specific elimination of cells surrounding the embryo. This process is essential for optimal embryo expansion. A comparative analysis of the two types of cell death occurring in the starchy endosperm—namely, the conservative cell death in the central starchy endosperm and the specific elimination of cells around the embryo—highlighted distinct cyto-morphological features and the requirement for different genetic regulators. Specifically, the kil1 kil2 signaling pathway was identified as the genetic regulator for starchy endosperm elimination around the embryo, while other genetic regulators may play a role in the conserved cell death of the central starchy endosperm. In summary, these results offer new insights into the regulation of starchy endosperm cell death and present novel avenues for optimizing grain quality through the manipulation of cell death processes.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

Around 60% of our daily diet is directly derived from cereal grains. In the grain, most nutrients are stored in a highly specialized reserve tissue called the starchy endosperm (SE). SE development ends by the execution of a controlled cell death program (PCD), which leaves the nutrient-filled cell corpses largely intact. PCD has been proposed to be crucial for storage compound preservation, but despite this potential importance, surprisingly little is known on the genetic regulation of SE PCD. In this project, I hypothesise that cereal SE PCD is controlled by a gene regulatory network that I propose to investigate in maize (Zea mays). To this end, I will combine the extensive knowledge I acquired during my PhD on maize kernel development with the well-documented expertise of the host lab in plant PCD analysis. I will first determine the spatio-temporal pattern of SE PCD under the growth conditions of the host institute and characterise its subcellular features in detail by ultrastructural analyses. As SE PCD is not executed homogenously in time and space, I propose to perform then a single-nucleus RNA-seq combined with a spatial transcriptomics approach on dissected endosperm tissue in order to obtain transcriptome profiles and developmental trajectories with single-cell resolution. Based on their expression profiles, I will finally select up to 20 PCD-associated candidate transcription factors and screen them for gain-of-function PCD phenotypes in transient expression systems. Promising candidates will be functionally analysed in maize SE via gain- and loss-of-function approaches. In the resulting maize lines, I will investigate the changes in PCD progression and use them to assess the physiological relevance of a correct PCD execution in the SE. In sum, this project will generate the first functional insights on the gene regulatory networks of cereal SE PCD and will provide new leads for future agronomic applications.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

VIB VZW · ZWIJNAARDE - GENTКоординаторБелгия