Description du projet
Explorer pourquoi les taux élevés de CO2 réduisent la valeur nutritionnelle de nos aliments
Selon les estimations, deux milliards de personnes sont atteintes de carences en un ou plusieurs micronutriments. Étant donné que la croissance des plantes est très sensible aux températures, la hausse des températures mondiales en raison de l’augmentation des taux de CO2 ne fera qu’aggraver cette situation. De nouvelles études montrent désormais que l’augmentation des taux de CO2 peut également menacer la sécurité alimentaire en diminuant directement la valeur nutritionnelle des plantes. En particulier, ces taux se traduisent par des concentrations inférieures de micronutriments alimentaires importants, tels que le fer. Le projet NUTRIENT, financé par l’UE, va étudier la raison pour laquelle l’augmentation des taux de CO2 influence négativement la valeur nutritionnelle des plantes. En utilisant Arabidopsis thaliana comme modèle, les chercheurs étudieront la manière dont les taux élevés de CO2 influencent la capacité de la plante à produire des molécules contenant de l’azote, et la manière dont ce gaz affecte les mécanismes physiologiques de la plante.
Objectif
The continuous elevation of atmospheric CO2 concentration will lead to levels higher than 750 ppm at the end of the century. Such elevated atmospheric CO2 (eCO2) will impact the biology of most plants, as CO2 is a limiting factor for C3 photosynthesis. While it is predicted that eCO2 will increase biomass production in C3 plants, many studies suggest that this is actually lower than expected. In addition eCO2 impairs the mineral status of these plants, especially for nitrogen (N) and iron. This is now acknowledged as an under evaluated threat for human nutrition, as deficiencies in proteins and micronutrients are already serious health problems affecting about two billion people. The key issue addressed by NUTRIENT is to understand why eCO2 has a detrimental effect on mineral nutrition of C3 plants. This effect is not understood, but recent studies indicate that eCO2 may negatively affect physiological and/or developmental processes involved in nutrient acquisition, translocation and assimilation. This highlights a major knowledge gap on the coordination between photosynthesis and mineral nutrition in response to eCO2. NUTRIENT will tackle this issue by focussing on the effect of eCO2 on N nutrition in Arabidopsis thaliana, with the aim to identify physiological and molecular mechanisms that underlie the negative effect of eCO2 on plant proteins content. This will be achieved using an integrative systems biology approach, combining physiological and molecular analyses of N nutrition, characterisation of transport, metabolism or signalling mutants, and modelling of gene regulatory networks from transcriptomic studies. Arabidopsis is a perfect model as it shows the same negative effect of eCO2 on nutrient status as C3 crops, and offers many genetics, genomics and bioinformatics resources. NUTRIENT has great potential to contribute to Europe’s excellence and competitiveness in the world, being in line with the European and French Sustainable Development programs.
Champ scientifique
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinateur
75007 Paris
France