Project description
Studying DNA to improve cereals’ resistance to heat stress
Wheat is the first cereal worldwide for trade, with the demand expected to grow by 60 % by 2050. Yet, global warming is threatening yield stability and yield increase. Heat stress, in particular, is becoming more and more challenging. Plants already have evolved a variety of sophisticated mechanisms to adapt, including epigenetic regulations. In this context, the EU-funded 3Dwheat project is going to study histone marks and the 3D organisation of the chromatin, both instrumental for coordinated regulation of gene expression and thus the cereal’s resistance. The project will also develop innovative tools for novel breeding strategies that will harness epigenetic variability in addition to genetic diversity.
Objective
In the global warming era, heat stress is a major threat for both yield stability and yield increase. Plants have evolved a variety of sophisticated mechanisms to adapt to challenging environments. Epigenetic regulations allow them to dynamically reprogram their transcription machinery to adapt to an ever-changing environment. Both histone marks and the 3D organization of the chromatin are instrumental for this coordinated regulation of gene expression according to environmental cues. Yet, the overwhelming majority of available data on chromatin dynamics in response to stress has been obtained in Arabidopsis, and cannot be directly transferred to crops. Due to the expansion of NGS technologies, we are currently facing a change of paradigm, empowering the development of genome-wide approaches on crops.
In this project we focus on wheat. Wheat is the 1st cereal worldwide for trade, and the demand is expected to increase by 60% by 2050. My main objective is a thorough understanding of the priming for heat stress resistance in wheat. To this end, I propose to develop a new tri-dimensional (D) functional genomics approach, integrating epigenomic (1D), transcriptomic (2D) and chromatin architecture (3D) data to elucidate the molecular basis for priming in wheat.
Moreover, this project will go beyond addressing the challenge of deciphering epigenetic regulatory processes underlying priming. It also includes the development of innovative tools for novel breeding strategies that will harness epigenetic variability in addition to genetic diversity. We propose to generate a new generation of molecular markers that do not rely on DNA sequence polymorphisms, and that can be readily used in traditional breeding programs as such, or as complementary tools for efficient QTL introgression. Such markers will be used to tag new traits, to follow a new generation of alleles as well as to unveil new types of genetic diversity in existing collections of germplasms.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture grains and oilseeds cereals
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Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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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.
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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.
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2021-COG
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75006 PARIS
France
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