METALHOME · Molecular mechanisms of metal homeostasis in higher plants

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Project objective

Plant metal homeostasis has several significant implications for human health and well-being. Uptake and accumulation of toxic metal ions by crop plants is the major pathway for entry of metals such as cadmium into the food chain. Other metals are essential nutrients: iron deficiency is the most widely spread micronutrient deficiency, affecting up to 3.7 billion people, particularly women, while zinc deficiency is a limiting factor for production and quality of cereals. In addition, the ability of some plant species and ecotypes to hyper accumulate certain metals has been proposed to be exploited for phytoremediation, i.e. the removal of metals from contaminated soil or water. The objective of this network project is to establish a collaborative multidisciplinary approach to understanding metal homeostasis in plants. A major issue in understanding metal accumulation in higher plants is the discovery of the mechanisms that direct accumulation either into the root cells or to the shoot tissues. This process seems to be central to the hyper accumulation phenotype observed in some plants. As the basic molecular mechanisms for metal transport and chelation in plants are beginning to be uncovered, the major objective of the project will be to understand at the molecular level the mechanisms responsible. for metal transport within the plant and metal partitioning between roots and shoots.To achieve this goal, we will use two main strategies:1 ) An unbiased genetic approach to identify genes responsible for the hyper accumulator phenotype observed in some plant accessions.2) A targeted approach based on the hypothesis that metal accumulation in one organ is the result of the activity of metal transporters and the synthesis of metal-chelating molecules. The combination of unbiased genetics and targeted molecular biological strategies that we plan to use will provide a challenging and exciting programme of multidisciplinary training for the pre- and post

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

• THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD · OXFORDCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
• CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE · PARISFrance
• INSTITUTE OF PLANT BIOCHEMISTRY · HALLE (SAALE)Germany
• MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN E.V. · MUENCHENGermany
• UNIVERSITE LIBRE DE BRUXELLES · BRUXELLESBelgium
• UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF LILLE · VILLENEUVE D'ASCQCity levelFrance
• WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY · WAGENINGENNetherlands

Links

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