Project description DEENESFRITPL Handling of iron in nitrogen-fixing endosymbiotic bacteria Rhizobia-legume symbiosis is the main route for sustainable nitrogen to contribute to soil fertility. During symbiosis, legumes develop nodules hosting endosymbiotic bacteria expressing nitrogenase, a unique iron and molibdenum metalloenzyme that transforms atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia that is utilised by plants. The EU-funded IronFeRhizo project will combine biochemical and molecular biology techniques to determine how much iron is required by nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which genes are required in its transport into the cell, and how much is used to metallate the nitrogenase and other metalloproteins. The techniques developed will facilitate research into mineral nutrition in other soil bacteria, how cells partition an element among different metalloproteins, and how iron homeostasis can help us optimise nitrogen fixation in rhizobia. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Rhizobia-legume symbiosis (RLS) is the principal entry pathway of sustainable N in agricultural systems. During the symbiosis, plants develop a new organ called the nodule that hosts thousands of endosymbiotic bacteria expressing the nitrogenase, the enzyme responsible to transform the atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia. The nitrogenase unique metallic cofactors (made of Fe and Mo) likely impose an extra demand of these metals to the cell, which already requires a basal amount of Fe to synthesize ‘housekeeping’ metalloproteins. However, the transport systems required by the endosymbiotic rhizobia to satisfy that increased demand remain obscure yet.In this project, we will combine molecular biology approaches, including cell-labeling, epitope tagging, and loss-of-function genomic approaches coupled with thorough phenotyping and two analytical methods, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and X-ray absorption spectroscopy, to characterize how much iron does nitrogen-fixing bacteria need, how much is used to metallate the nitrogenase and other metalloproteins, and what genes are required to maintain the Fe homeostasis in the endosymbiotic bacteria.The methodologies developed within this project will open new avenues for the study of mineral nutrition in other soil bacteria and will offer an insight into how cells partition an element among different metalloproteins. Furthermore, ironing out Fe homeostasis in rhizobia will allow us to maximize the nitrogen fixation capabilities of both natural and synthetic nitrogen-fixing bacteria to be used as inoculants in sustainable agriculture practices. Fields of science natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriologynatural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsspectroscopyabsorption spectroscopynatural sciencesbiological sciencesbiological behavioural sciencesethologybiological interactionsmedical and health sciencesbasic medicinephysiologyhomeostasisnatural sciencesbiological sciencesmolecular biology Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2020 - Individual Fellowships Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2020 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF) Coordinator THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD Net EU contribution € 224 933,76 Address Wellington square university offices OX1 2JD Oxford United Kingdom See on map Region South East (England) Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Oxfordshire Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00
