Descripción del proyecto
WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF GENETIC POSSIBILITIES, PLANT YIELD AS WELL AS PLANT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT ARE LARGELY DETERMINED BY A NUMBER OF PLANT INTRINSIC PROPERTIES AND EXTERNAL FACTORS, INCLUDING PHOTOSYNTHETIC CAPACITY, WATER AND NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY AND UPTAKE, AS WELL AS BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC STRESSES. HEREIN, THE NUTRIENT UPTAKE CAPACITY AND NUTRIENT DISTRIBUTION PLAY KEY ROLES. PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS ARE KNOWN TO HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO POSITIVELY AFFECT, I.A., NUTRIENT UPTAKE AND PATHOGEN RESISTANCE SUBSTANTIALLY. STUDIES ON THE INTERACTION OF THE SYMBIOTIC, ROOT-COLONIZING ENDOPHYTIC FUNGUS PIRIFORMOSPORA INDICA WITH THE MODEL PLANT ARABIDOPSIS ALREADY SHOWED GENERAL GROWTH-PROMOTING EFFECTS. UNLIKE MANY OTHER FUNGI, P. INDICA HAS A VERY BROAD HOST RANGE THAT INCLUDES TREES, AGRICULTURAL, HORTICULTURAL AND MEDICINAL PLANTS, MONO- AND DICOTS AND MOSSES, SUGGESTING THAT THE INTERACTION IS BASED ON GENERAL RECOGNITION AND SIGNALING PROCESSES. P. INDICA PROMOTES NUTRIENT UPTAKE AND ALLOWS PLANTS TO SURVIVE UNDER WATER AND SALT STRESS, CONFERS RESISTANCE TO PATHOGENS AND STIMULATES GROWTH, BIOMASS AND SEED PRODUCTION. FURTHERMORE, STUDIES IN THE LABORATORY OF ONE OF THE PARTICIPANTS HAVE SHOWN THAT IN ARABIDOPSIS AND CHINESE CABBAGE GROWTH PROMOTION CAN ALSO BE ACHIEVED BY AN EXUDATE COMPONENT RELEASED BY THE FUNGUS INTO THE GROWTH MEDIUM. P. INDICA-INSENSITIVE MUTANTS ARE ALSO INSENSITIVE TO THE EXUDATE FRACTION. THIS AND OTHER DATA SUPPORT THE CONCEPT THAT AN ELICITOR RELEASED BY THE FUNGUS IS PERCEIVED BY THE HOST CELL AND ACTIVATES A RECEPTOR-MEDIATED SIGNALING PATHWAY, WHICH STILL REMAINS UNCERTAIN. IN THE SCOPE OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH PROJECT, WE SUGGEST TO INVESTIGATE THE MOLECULAR MECHANISM(S) TRIGGERED BY P. INDICA THAT LEAD TO INCREASED PLANT YIELD AND GROWTH UNDER STRESS CONDITIONS, AND TO IMPROVED PATHOGEN RESISTANCE. WITH RESPECT TO ALREADY OBTAINED DATA, THESE IMPROVEMENTS SEEM TO BE ACHIEVED THROUGH CHANGES IN PLANT HORMONE METABOLISM, WHICH TRANSLATE INTO AN ALTERATION OF ROOT SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE THAT IS COUPLED TO IMPROVED NUTRIENT UPTAKE CAPACITY. REFERRING TO THE VERY BROAD HOST SPECTRUM OF P. INDICA, IT CAN BE ASSUMED THAT THE IDENTIFIED MECHANISM(S) WILL BE CONSERVED AND CAN THUS BE EMPLOYED TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF A BROAD VARIETY OF PLANT SPECIES. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL TRANSFER THE OBTAINED DATA TO BRASSICA CROPS, CEREALS, AND RICE, AND TEST THE PRODUCTIVITY OF THE PRODUCED ELITE LINES NOT ONLY UNDER GREENHOUSE CONDITIONS, BUT ALSO UNDER EX-SITU CONTROLLED CONDITIONS. MICAS VEGETALES\RENDIMIENTO Y CALIDAD DE CULTIVOS ALIMEN\TOLERANCIA A ESTRÉS\BIOLOGÍA DE SISTEMAS