Descripción del proyecto
Cómo y por qué se suicidan las células vegetales durante el desarrollo
La apoptosis es un proceso evolutivamente conservado en organismos pluricelulares en el que las células innecesarias o anormales se «suicidan» al activar un programa de muerte intracelular. Este proceso es importante en el desarrollo, la homeostasis y la respuesta al estrés, y su desregulación desempeña un papel en muchas enfermedades. Se sabe muy poco sobre la apoptosis en las plantas. «Arabidopsis thaliana» es un sistema modelo muy utilizado para estudiar la biología vegetal. El equipo del proyecto PROCELLDEATH, financiado por el Consejo Europeo de Investigación, intentará responder cuestiones fundamentales aún no resueltas sobre la regulación de la apoptosis en el desarrollo de las plantas. Para ello empelará el sistema modelo de apoptosis en la pilorriza de «Arabidopsis thaliana» desarrollado con anterioridad. Los resultados de esta investigación podrían dar lugar a nuevas aplicaciones agrícolas.
Objetivo
Programmed cell death (PCD) is a fundamental biological process that actively terminates a cell’s vital functions by a well-ordered sequence of events. In both animals and plants, various types of PCD are crucial for development, health, and the responses to various stresses. Despite their importance, only little is known about PCD processes and their molecular control in plants. Still, an intricate regulatory network must exist that renders specific plant cell types competent to initiate and execute PCD at precisely determined developmental stages. I recently established a powerful developmental PCD model system in Arabidopsis thaliana, based on a PCD process occurring during root cap development. This root cap model has the potential to revolutionize existing concepts of plant PCD, as it combines a precisely predictable PCD process in easily accessible cells on the root periphery with the abundance of resources available for Arabidopsis research. Exploiting the root cap system will enable me to tackle unresolved fundamental questions about the regulation of developmental PCD in plants: How do cells acquire PCD competency during differentiation? Which signals trigger PCD execution at just the right moment? What are the actual mechanisms that disrupt the vital functions of a plant cell? I will obtain answers to these questions through a comprehensive strategy combining complementary approaches, taking advantage of cell-type specific transcriptomics, forward and reverse genetics, advanced live-cell imaging, biochemistry, and computational modeling. Our unpublished data point to the existence of a common core mechanism controlling PCD not only in the root cap, but also in other vital organs including the vasculature, anthers, or developing seeds. Thus, this project will not only be significant to advance our knowledge on PCD as a general developmental mechanism in plants, but also to generate new leads to tap the so far underexploited potential of PCD in agriculture.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-STG - Starting GrantInstitución de acogida
9052 ZWIJNAARDE - GENT
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