Project description
Rethinking rice: a sustainable nutritional revolution
Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for plants and a limited planetary resource. Its poor availability in agricultural soils has compelled farmers to excessively use P fertilisers, which pose a threat to our environment, particularly open-water bodies. Rice, the world's third most produced cereal crop, utilises only 25 % of P efficiently. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the P-use efficient rice project aims to enhance both P use efficiency and the nutritional value of rice. The project explores the role of inositol pyrophosphates (PP-InsPs) in P signalling and homeostasis. Project work holds the potential to genetically improve rice cultivars, increasing P use efficiency and reducing the phytate content in rice seeds, thereby increasing the bioavailability of micronutrients.
Objective
Phosphorus (P) is one of the most important molecules having a role in almost every aspect of plant metabolism. So, a constant supply of P and its efficient use as Pi are necessary to sustain plant growth, development and yield. However, in most of the agricultural lands, Pi is poorly available to plants. In order to overcome the consequences of Pi deficiency, farmers have adopted excessive and routine application of P fertilizers, causing serious impacts on the environment. There are two main concerns regarding the excessive use of P fertilizers. On one hand, erosion by water and wind results in P runoff into open water bodies, causing a major threat to planetary health. On the other hand, P deposits represent a limited resource on our planet. Additionally, some P forms within the plant (such as phytate) are crucial to determine micronutrient availability for the human nutrition and animal feed. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand the functional aspects of Pi sensing, transport, signaling and remobilization, and, thus, it is imperative to develop crops with enhanced PUE (P Use Efficiency) and micronutrient availability to support a more sustainable agriculture system. Although rice counts for the third-most produced cereal crop in the world, it is limited to have only 25% PUE, providing an enormous scope for improvement in P nutrition. In this line, we propose to investigate the synthesis and physiological roles of inositol pyrophosphates (PP-InsPs) in Pi signaling and homeostasis to improve the nutritional value of rice. The proposed research will help to better understand how PP-InsPs control PUE, and will provide the knowledge to reduce phytate content in rice seeds, thereby increasing micronutrient bioavailability without compromising plant immunity, health and yield. In short, the discoveries will help to enhance PUE, preserve P-deposits, mitigate the detrimental consequences of excessive P-fertilization and improve the nutritional value of rice.
Fields of science
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculturesustainable agriculture
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyplanetary sciencesplanets
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesnutrition
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinephysiologyhomeostasis
- agricultural sciencesanimal and dairy sciencedomestic animalsanimal husbandryanimal feed
Keywords
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European FellowshipsCoordinator
53113 Bonn
Germany