Objective We seek to understand how plants perceive temperature. Being sessile organisms, plants are acutely sensitive to changes in ambient temperature, and are able to detect and respond to a change of as little as one degree Celsius. To directly address how plants sense temperature change, we have devised and implemented a novel forward genetic screen for mutants impaired in their ability to detect temperature correctly. Initial results demonstrate an interesting connection between chromatin structure and temperature sensing, which we are able to show is conserved within eukaryotes. Understanding the molecular basis of temperature perception is of interest from both a fundamental scientific perspective as well as having implications for understanding how plants (which comprise more than 1.25 trillion tonnes of biomass) will respond to climate change. The distribution and flowering time of wild plants has already been measurably altered by climate change, and this will become more dramatic under projected changes. Knowing the mechanisms of temperature perception will facilitate crop-breeding programs as well as provide important knowledge for predicting future effects of climate change. To this end, we propose a multi-disciplinary program exploiting two powerful model systems, Arabidopsis thaliana and Brachypodium distachyon, to address 5 key questions: 1. What is the molecular basis for temperature perception? 2. How is the temperature transcriptome coordinately regulated? 3. How are the flowering time pathways regulated by temperature? 4. How do plants adapt to different climates? Fields of science natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changesagricultural sciencesagricultural biotechnologybiomass Keywords Arabidopsis thaliana Brachypodium distachyon flowering time temperature perception Programme(s) FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Topic(s) ERC-SG-LS3 - ERC Starting Grant - Cellular and Developmental Biology Call for proposal ERC-2009-StG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-SG - ERC Starting Grant Host institution THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE EU contribution € 1 207 460,41 Address TRINITY LANE THE OLD SCHOOLS CB2 1TN Cambridge United Kingdom See on map Region East of England East Anglia Cambridgeshire CC Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Renata Schaeffer (Ms.) Principal investigator Philip Anthony Wigge (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data Beneficiaries (2) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all THE CHANCELLOR MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE United Kingdom EU contribution € 1 207 460,41 Address TRINITY LANE THE OLD SCHOOLS CB2 1TN Cambridge See on map Region East of England East Anglia Cambridgeshire CC Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Renata Schaeffer (Ms.) Principal investigator Philip Anthony Wigge (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data JOHN INNES CENTRE Participation ended United Kingdom EU contribution € 492 047,99 Address NORWICH RESEARCH PARK COLNEY NR4 7UH Norwich See on map Region East of England East Anglia Breckland and South Norfolk Activity type Research Organisations Administrative Contact Mary Anderson (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data
