Project description
Oxygen-sensing systems in animals applied to plants
Aerobic organisms have developed systems to measure cellular oxygen levels and activate adaptive responses in case a lack of oxygen (hypoxia) occurs. Both plants and animals can use dioxygenase enzymes to regulate gene targets at the transcriptional level; however, although their sensing strategy is the same, the molecular structure of the components involved differs. The EU-funded SynOxyS project will develop a novel approach to transfer features of oxygen-sensing and delivery systems from simple multicellular animals (Metazoa) into plants and determine their performance in plant cells. The aim is to identify the mechanisms underlying the efficient control of hypoxic responses, particularly those controlling adaptive responses that enhance hypoxia tolerance in plants, for application in farming.
Objective
Aerobic organisms developed systems to measure cellular oxygen levels and activAerobic organisms developed systems to measure cellular oxygen levels and activate adaptive responses in case hypoxia occurs. This condition can be caused by sudden environmental changes or associated with developmental programmes. Recent reports have revealed that complex eukaryotes, such as plants and animals, converged towards the recruitment of dioxygenase enzymes to regulate gene targets at the transcriptional level. However, while the sensing strategy is the same, the molecular identity of the components involved is different. The similarities and differences between animal and plant hypoxia machineries can be exploited to acquire better understanding of the dynamics of oxygen sensing in the two kingdoms and more precise manipulation of these mechanisms for farming proposes.
Here, I plan to apply a novel approach that merges the synthetic biology framework, molecular physiology and developmental biology to transfer features of the metazoan oxygen sensing and delivery systems to plants. This strategy will be instrumental to investigate for the first time whole oxygen machineries and characterize their performance in the context of plant cells. More specifically, the proposed project expands in three distinct although interlinked directions that explore (1) the exploitation of 2-OG dioxygenase to drive selective proteolysis in higher plants, (2) the investigation of endogenous or heterologous control of chromatin accessibility by 2-OG dioxygenases and (3) the engineering of a synthetic delivery delivery system to alter oxygen provision or perception specifically to shoot apical meristems. The process of design and optimization of these synthetic oxygen machineries, and the comparison with endogenous ones, will allow pinpointing the features that enable efficient control of hypoxic responses and specifically controlling adaptive responses that ameliorate hypoxia tolerance in plants.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2020-COG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
OX1 2JD Oxford
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.