Final Report Summary - PLANTSURVIVOR (ATR7, a novel player of oxidative stress tolerance in plants: interrogation of its mode of action through an integrative omics approach)
The second goal of PlantSurvivor was to train the MC fellow in modern genomics and metabolomics methods on state-of-the-art instruments available at the University of Potsdam. The training was achieved through research (executing the scheduled research program), through a series of lectures delivered by scientists of the host institute and visiting scholars, by on-hands training in transcriptional analysis and metabolomics, and by attending practical courses. Another aspect of the training program was the involvement in scientific writing and project preparation. The MC fellow together with his scientific supervisor Prof. B. Mueller-Roeber has written and submitted 6 project proposals, three of them have already been successful and the others are pending decisions. This has been important not only for the development of the MC fellow but also for the long-term cooperation between the host institution and the MC fellow’s home institute.
The project results will have diverse scientific and socioeconomic impacts. The scientific results are of particular interest to plant biologists working in the fields of reactive oxygen species biology and abiotic stress physiology. Some of these results may have practical applications. For example, the large vegetable breeding company Enza Zaden from the Netherlands has expressed interest in these results and set up a collaborative project with the host. Creating fundamental knowledge for practical applications in vegetable plant breeding can have a wide impact not only on science but also on the agricultural industry. On the other hand, the societal implications of PlantSurvivor are exemplified by substantiating the cooperation between the host and the MC fellow’s home institute and attracting additional EU partners into a wider research network that will function in the years beyond the end of the project.