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Circadian Clock Gating of the Shade Avoidance Response Optimises Plant Fitness

Project description

Does the shade avoidance response give plants an advantage?

The EU-funded TIME_FOR_SHADE project will determine if circadian gating (circadian changes in the sensitivity of a signalling pathway) of the shade avoidance response (SAR) provides plants with a fitness advantage. It will also define the underlying molecular mechanisms that link the internal circadian clock to altered leaf cellular responses under SAR. The research fellow will use bioluminescence reporters, optogenetic tools and the PS-plant 3D imaging platform to collect data from the molecular to the whole plant level. Pennycress, a novel oilseed crop and a close relative of Arabidopsis, will also be developed as a model to facilitate the direct translation of the project's findings to increase plant fitness and yield for this new crop species.

Objective

As arable land becomes scarcer and the human population continues to grow, we need to focus our efforts on increasing yield. The goal is to rethink agriculture to ensure food security. One way to do so is to lower yield loss due to light limitation by neighbouring shade or high-density planting. Phytochrome (phy) photoreceptors play a critical role in plant survival under vegetation shade conditions, by initiating a switch to a shade avoidance response (SAR) growth strategy. Although SAR reconfigures overall architecture for optimal light capture, it results in elongation of growth of stem-like tissue, at the expense of harvestable organs. Central to this adaptive response is an interaction between the plant's internal circadian clock and the phy pathways which restricts or gates the response to dusk. As the clock was previously shown to have a general role in optimising fitness, this proposal will establish whether circadian gating of SAR confers a fitness advantage and delineate the underlying molecular mechanisms that link the clock to altered leaf cellular responses under SAR. Bioluminescence reporters, optogenetic tools and the PS-plant 3D imaging platform will enable the capture of dynamical data from molecular to whole plant levels. Further, pennycress, a novel oilseed crop and a close relative of Arabidopsis will be developed as a model to facilitate the direct translation of novel findings in this proposal, to increase plant fitness and yield to this new crop species.

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MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 187 572,48
Address
HEIDELBERGLAAN 8
3584 CS Utrecht
Netherlands

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Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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.

€ 187 572,48
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