Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS
Content archived on 2024-05-27

Temporal regulation of starch degradation in CAM plants

Objective

Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) is a photosynthetic adaptation to arid environments where water-use efficiency and biomass productivity is optimized by taking up CO2 at night when evapo-transpiration rates are low. These desirable traits hinge on effective temporal coordination of the metabolic processes that determine the supply and demand for carbon over the day/night cycle. Data from the host lab has indicated that; a) starch availability is a key determinant of the amount of CO2 taken up at night by CAM species and b) the internal circadian clock may play a key role in apportioning carbohydrates reserves for growth during the day whilst retaining sufficient starch for sustaining CO2 uptake at night. Recent in-depth sequencing of the transcriptome of Kalanchoë fedtschenkoi, a CAM species amenable to genetic manipulation, provides a timely and novel opportunity to test the functional significance of enzymes implicated in starch degradation and their regulation via the clock for optimizing the photosynthetic performance and growth of CAM plants. The MC candidate will use existing clock transformants of K. fedtschenkoi and will also genetically modify the expression of certain genes that have been implicated in starch degradation in CAM plants. The aims of the project are; 1) to determine if the unique nocturnal demands for carbohydrate in CAM are accomplished by using a different pathway for starch degradation compared to that found in C3 plants and 2) to establish the role of the clock in maintaining carbon balance in CAM in terms of the metering of starch reserves between growth and as substrates for nocturnal CO2 uptake under varying environmental conditions. This multidisciplinary program addresses several priorities within FP7 pertaining to abiotic stress tolerance in plants and is of high importance for contributing knowledge to assist in developing more drought resistant crops and for informing the potential use of CAM species as feedstocks for bioenergy

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.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Topic(s)

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.

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IEF
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

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.

MC-IEF - Intra-European Fellowships (IEF)

Coordinator

UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
EU contribution
€ 180 103,20
Address
KINGS GATE
NE1 7RU Newcastle Upon Tyne
United Kingdom

See on map

Region
North East (England) Northumberland and Tyne and Wear Tyneside
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data
My booklet 0 0