Description du projet
Comprendre les mécanismes moléculaires de la croissance des plantes
Les plantes jouent un rôle fondamental dans le domaine du vivant. Leur développement et leur croissance dépendent de l’absorption de sucre dans les zones de croissance (le méristème) et reposent sur les transporteurs de sucre (SUC et STP) qui facilitent son transport à travers les membranes. La polarité de croissance est assurée par un gradient asymétrique d’auxine produit par des transporteurs d’auxine appelés PIN. En comprenant les déterminants moléculaires qui régissent leur fonction, on pourrait prédire et éventuellement modifier les réponses des plantes à un environnement variable, mais on ne connaît toujours pas les mécanismes moléculaires par lesquels les SUC, STP et PIN assurent leur fonction de transport. Le projet MUM-GROW, financé par l’UE, expliquera le mécanisme moléculaire du transport transmembranaire du sucre et de l’auxine dans les plantes, en concentrant ses efforts sur des études moléculaires in vitro et en menant des expériences structurelles et biochimiques.
Objectif
Life on Earth is sustained by plants. Growth and development in the plant kingdom is mediated by the controlled distribution of sugars and the hormone auxin, but we still know surprisingly little about the molecular details of this essential part of fundamental plant metabolism. MUM-GROW will elucidate the molecular mechanism of sugar and auxin transmembrane transport in plants. It moves the frontiers of the field by shifting the focus to molecular studies in vitro allowing structural and biochemical experiments to be performed.
Correct plant growth and development is completely dependent on sugar uptake in growth zones (the meristem), and made possible in all plants by sugar transporters called SUCs and STPs. Growth polarity is created by an asymmetrical gradient of auxin mediated by auxin transporters called PINs. Despite extensive research, the molecular mechanisms of SUC, STP and PIN transport remains unknown. If we knew the molecular determinants of their function, it would allow us to predict, augment and possibly modify plant responses to a changing environment.
I will address this using a complementary set of methods founded in structural biology to determine the 3-dimensional structures of key players in these transmembrane transport systems. This will be combined with biochemical characterization to address important mechanistic questions and elucidate their molecular mechanism.
Understanding the mechanisms that govern plasticity in growth is essential for determining resilience of whole ecosystems. This proposal will lead to a breakthrough in our understanding of sugar and auxin homeostasis, a fundamental part of basic plant metabolism. It has tremendous potential for the societal challenge to secure sufficient food for our global population in a sustainable balance between environmental impact and resource exploitation. Furthermore, this proposal will uncover general molecular principles of transmembrane uptake and export pertaining to all organisms.
Champ scientifique
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantInstitution d’accueil
8000 Aarhus C
Danemark