PLANT RESPONSE to ‘friend or foe’: a CELL type specific nuclear proteomics approach

Project Information

PlantCellResponse

Grant agreement ID: 101024907

DOI

10.3030/101024907

Project closed

EC signature date 18 March 2021

Start date 1 June 2021

End date 31 May 2023

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 162 806,40

EU contribution

€ 162 806,40

Coordinated by

MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PlantCellResponse (PLANT RESPONSE to ‘friend or foe’: a CELL type specific nuclear proteomics approach)

Reporting period: 2021-06-01 to 2023-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Plants are constantly surrounded by beneficial and adverse microbes but it is not well understood how they respond at the molecular level and eventually distinguish between ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Adverse conditions such as infections with pathogenic microorganisms can lead to yield losses in crops which is why it is important to understand these responses better. Noteworthy, plant roots consist of functionally different cell layers that likely respond differentially to the organisms around them. The main objective of this project was to apply a state-of-the-art protein proximity labelling technique for the first time to measure molecular responses to different microbes at the proteome level in different root cell types of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project was hosted at the Max Planck Institute of Chemical Ecology. It was divided in three objectives/work packages. The first objective was to use a multi-omics approach to understand the response of the root to different microbes. Within this objective the main goal was to establish the protein proximity labelling technique in the lab and establish a sensitive proteomics analysis pipeline to detect differential accumulation of proteins in the nuclei in response to different biotic interactors. The researcher was successful in generating a transgenic line expressing the protein proximity ligase and in afterwards detecting differentially accumulating proteins in response to a plant stress hormone. The second objective was establishing the same method in a cell type specific manner. For this the researcher generated transgenic lines expressing the proximity ligase in specific cell layers using cell type specific promoters. After solving several technical difficulties, they were successful in detecting cell type specific proteins and the lines are being used to conduct experiments in response to biotic interactors. The third objective/ work package was to in detail characterize proteins detected in work packages 1 and 2 which is work being continued after the funding period of the project.
A manuscript describing the application of the method will include the generated datasets of work packages 1 and 2 and is in preparation. Future manuscripts are expected about results from work package 3. The researcher presented the results in oral presentations at two international conferences. Additionally, the researcher has participated in outreach activities including a picture competition in which a picture of the plant lines generated during this project was selected to be shown in public spaces accompanied by a recording in which the researcher explains the project to the general public.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

This project was the first one applying the protein proximity technique in the context of plant environmental responses in a cell type specific manner. The method has already gained some interest in the scientific community as shown by the researcher being selected for oral presentations from a submitted abstract at international conferences. The protocol developed within the frame of this project is very useful to other plant scientists interested in using the method in their research. The generated datasets will be of high value for the community working on plant-environment interactions and will be publicly available upon publication of a manuscript.
The career of the researcher has benefited immensely from the experience of successfully conducting a project entirely independent from the ongoing research at the host lab. From these results they may develop their own independent line of research.

cell types in an Arabidopsis root