Descrizione del progetto
Alla ricerca di una fecondazione preferenziale nelle piante con cellule spermatiche isomorfiche
La riproduzione delle piante da fiore si basa su un doppio processo di fecondazione: uno spermatozoo si fonde con l’ovulo per produrre l’embrione e l’altro si fonde con la cellula centrale per produrre l’endosperma nutritivo. Nella maggior parte delle piante da fiore, i due spermatozoi sono isomorfi (identici). In alcune specie con cellule spermatiche dimorfiche, una cellula spermatica può fondersi preferenzialmente con l’ovulo. Non è chiaro se questo avvenga nelle piante con spermatozoi isomorfi. Con il sostegno del programma di azioni Marie-Sklodowska-Curie, il progetto SAMEorNOT affronterà tale questione aperta creando la prima linea di marcatori spermatici monocellulari in assoluto, basata sulle differenze trascrittomiche tra due cellule spermatiche isomorfe identificate con l’analisi della sequenza di RNA monocellulare.
Obiettivo
Human societies are sustained by flowering plants in different ways but especially as a key food supplier. However, it is known that increasing global temperatures strongly affect plant reproduction and the growing human population will require more food in short-middle term. Thus, to create new crop varieties more resistant to heat stress and with enhanced yield, a deeper understanding of the mechanism of plant sexual reproduction will be crucial for increasing the efficiency of plant breeding programs. Plant reproduction relies on a double fertilization process, in which two sperm cells from a pollen grain reach the ovule and one fertilize the egg cell while the other the central cell. In some species with dimorphic sperm cells a preferential fertilization of each sperm cell has been described, but for Arabidopsis thaliana as well as for many economically important crops with isomorphic sperm cells this question remains unclear. The main goal of this project is to identify by single cell RNA-seq analysis potential transcriptomic differences between the two Arabidopsis sperm cells. To do that, individual sperm cells from pollen tubes growing through female stylar transmitting tissue (semi in vivo) will be isolated by micromanipulation using a specially designed microfluidic chamber on an inverted microscope. The identification of differentially expressed genes would enable for the first time the creation of a sperm single-cell marker line to eventually explore a hypothetical preferential fertilization in Arabidopsis. These results can be adapted for plant breeding programs to develop impactful biotechnological tools, like haploid inducer lines with genetically modified sperm cells to specifically deliver components in the egg cell to induce in vivo gynogenesis. Additionally, the results will be a valuable scientific resource to address other topics beyond the preferential fertilization, like exploring hybridization barriers based on gamete recognition.
Campo scientifico
Programma(i)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-PF - MSCA-PFCoordinatore
1099 085 Lisboa
Portogallo